According to Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital, the iPhone 18 Pro will feature a noticeably smaller Dynamic Island (via MacRumors). This change is reportedly made possible by moving some of the bulky hardware required for Face ID beneath the active area of the OLED display.
The source claims that Apple has successfully relocated the infrared (IR) flood illuminator under the screen. This component is a vital part of the TrueDepth camera system that maps your face for security. By tucking it away, Apple can significantly narrow the black cutout that sits at the top of the display.
While the IR projector might be moving under the glass, the actual selfie camera and the dot projector are expected to remain in a visible, albeit much smaller, pill-shaped cutout. This lines up with what former display analyst Ross Young has been predicting for a while: a gradual transition toward a completely invisible sensor array.
“By shrinking the cutout, Apple is reclaiming more screen real estate for things like status bar icons and full-screen video,” the report notes. This refined look would make the iPhone 18 Pro look much more modern than its predecessors, especially as competitors in the Android world have been using tiny “hole-punch” cameras for years.
This design change is expected to be exclusive to the iPhone 18 ‘Pro’ models this year. For those looking at the standard iPhone 18 or the rumored iPhone Air 2, will likely still see the standard-sized Dynamic Island. Apple often uses its Pro line to debut new display technologies, just as it did with the original notch and the high-refresh-rate ProMotion screens.
Beyond the display, the iPhone 18 Pro is expected to sport the new A20 Pro chip, which will be the first from Apple to use a cutting-edge 2nm manufacturing process. This should mean better battery life and even faster speeds for on-device AI tasks. There are also rumors of a new “variable aperture” camera system, which would allow the phone to behave more like a professional DSLR by physically adjusting how much light hits the sensor.
If Apple sticks to its traditional schedule, we will see the iPhone 18 Pro officially release in September 2026.
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