iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max Expected to Feature Smaller Dynamic Island

[MacRumors]

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will have a smaller Dynamic Island, according to Bloomberg. Over the past year, there have been mixed rumors about whether the iPhone 18 Pro models will continue to feature a Dynamic Island or have a hole punch camera with under screen Face ID and no Dynamic Island, but the latest information suggests we're not getting rid of the Dynamic Island just yet.

Along with Bloomberg, several prominent leakers on Weibo and other social media sites have said Apple will make the Dynamic Island smaller, but won't eliminate it.

We heard the same rumors about a smaller iPhone 17 Pro Dynamic Island last year, but the Dynamic Island ultimately ended up being the same size. Rumors about the Dynamic Island have picked up in late 2025 and early 2026, and when we see a deluge of differently-sourced rumors about the same feature in the months leading up to a new iPhone's launch, those rumors are typically accurate.

Most of the iPhone 18 Pro rumors about under-display Face ID and no Dynamic Island circulated earlier in 2025, so Apple either considered the feature for the 18 Pro lineup and pushed it back, or those rumors were just guessing. There also may have been confusion over what's moving under the display and what's not.

To implement a smaller Dynamic Island, Apple is rumored to be putting the Face ID dot illuminator under the display, and rumors suggest the company is also implementing new camera miniaturization technology that could cut down on the size of the front-facing camera. The front-facing camera, Face ID dot projector, and infrared camera are expected to be housed in the Dynamic Island, and won't be under the display.

Apple does eventually want to create an iPhone that's a slab of glass with no cutouts, and we may see that for the 20th anniversary iPhone planned for 2027, but it won't happen in fall 2026 with the iPhone 18 Pro models.

Article Link: iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max Expected to Feature Smaller Dynamic Island

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I don't care about smaller, I care about higher

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Wake me up when they make the screen smaller, too.

 

[david_n_n]

Macrumors, stop covering for Mark Gurman by not mentioning his name anymore. He's just reverting to the mean of what other leakers are saying at this point.

 

[Dark-Signature]

For me it is only important, that the iPhone 18 Pro will come in a black tone.

 

[Nyx1]

When full display without stupid notch or island

 

[B4U]

That rendering is essentially a punch hole elongated at this point. 🤣

 

[robvalentine]

I don't care about smaller, I care about higher

The iPhone x had the least intrusive camera/face id assembly, and it's been a step backwards towards more intrusivity ever since IMO

 

[jayducharme]

The only gripe I have about the Dynamic Island is that many apps I use still haven't adapted to it and end up with a black blob hiding part of the app. At least with the notch, that issue wasn't as pronounced.

 

[Spock]

I wish they would just innovate and get rid of the islands whatever else all together.

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

So 2 different Dynamic Island sizes. Don't you just love unnecessary fragmentation?

 

[HouseLannister]

Smaller island, but we doubled the thickness of the phone. And we think you’re going to love it.

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

I actually really like the Dynamic Island.

 

[M3Stang]

I think it would be cool that even if/when the dynamic island as we know it today goes away, if we can still "turn it on" for those of us who are used to it. I like what it does. In other words, maybe have something reminiscent of its utility, like seeing call timer, seeing timers, seeing music playing, etc. I imagine a similar feature set will be available, it just might not be in the same space.

 

[Black_Mage]

That's nice for people still dealing with a notch, but I am holding out for truly all screen iPhone with no island or circle interrupting the screen.

 

[reno]

Wow, ground breaking. It will be even smaller for the next iPhone!

 

[reno]

That's nice for people still dealing with a notch, but I am holding out for truly all screen iPhone with no island or circle interrupting the screen.

At the pace Apple is going, it will need to shrink over the next 5 years before it disappears.

 

[boswald]

Smaller island and blood red? Yep, getting one.

 

[EM2013]

No way they make it smaller than a redesign with all screen for the 20th anniversary. I even have my doubts they’ll make an all screen phone in 2027

 

[diblasio]

I wish we'd get an iphone with e-ink display. Dumb phones really are becoming vogue. Give me an e-ink Apple phone that lasts a week on one charge, and I will not give a flippin' eff about islands...dynamic or otherwise!

 

[darngooddesign]

So 2 different Dynamic Island sizes. Don't you just love unnecessary fragmentation?

There is no fragmentation because the status bar stuff is just horizontally centered in the space. Just like there was no fragmentation when the notch decreased in size.

 

[SnowPenguin]

I think not having the hole in the first place is better.

As a compromise, a small punch hole for only the camera would be nice compromise.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

There also may have been confusion over what's moving under the display and what's not.

I like Julie's reporting, but articles like this once again contribute to this confusion. As in previous articles, this one contains a hodge-podge of terms and part names that show not enough knowledge of how they work, what they look like, and where they're located. Apple has moved around the front-facing parts in different iPhone models over the years, but for the most part they still look essentially the same and so their locations can be tracked. Currently, in the iPhone 16 models, left to right, the arrangement in the Dynamic Island is: IR camera, flood illuminator/proximity sensor (this part looks like two tiny dots oriented vertically), 3D dot illuminator, front-facing (selfie) camera.

To implement a smaller Dynamic Island, Apple is rumored to be putting the Face ID dot illuminator under the display, and rumors suggest the company is also implementing new camera miniaturization technology that could cut down on the size of the front-facing camera. The front-facing camera, Face ID dot projector, and infrared camera are expected to be housed in the Dynamic Island, and won't be under the display.

There is no "dot illuminator" and a separate "dot projector". Of these two parts, there's the "IR dot projector" which bounces about 30,000 dots off of the user's face to form a 3D map of it, and the IR flood illuminator to its left, which provides general infrared illumination (not more dots) onto the user's face to supplement the operation of Face ID, as well as serving as a proximity sensor.

The part that's easiest to move under the display is the flood illuminator/proximity sensor, but it's relatively tiny compared to the other Face ID parts, which includes the IR camera that reads the dots projected onto the user's face. Moving just the flood illuminator under the display seems unlikely to be enough to account for the significantly smaller size of the Dynamic Island that's being rumored, so either Apple might also be moving the IR camera or (less likely) the dot projector under the display, maybe along with miniaturization of one or more parts.

The photo released by Instant Digital a few weeks ago, of a possible prototype assembly of the iPhone 18's Face ID and front-facing camera hardware, shows the IR camera and the flood illuminator moved to the upper left corner of the display, where they'd have to be under the display to make sense, but that could have been just an assembly Apple was experimenting with.

Even all the chatbots get these things wrong most of the time. But we need to be better than them.

It's not that hard, people. It's just this little chromium switch here...

 

[Circa1984]

Anyone else OK with a top bezel? I was looking at an image and an important message at the top of the image was obstructed by the notch and not readable. WTF Apple, add a bezel until you have the tech to put it all behind the screen.

 

[ryguyMN]

iPhone 19..."We're making the whole phone compact...smaller than a USB dongle!"