iPhone 18 Pro Leak: Smaller Dynamic Island, No Top-Left Camera Cutout

[Mrbiggestman]

Having a selfie camera that takes washed out pictures because it sits behind a semi-transparent screen is not and will never be futuristic. It doesn't matter how good they make it, they'll never be as good as an unobstructed clear glass.

Ummm… ok, but how many times do people even use the front camera anyway. I practically use it 0.1% of the time so having no notch for me is the biggest upgrade ever. It doesn’t get in the way of any content, you get an actual full screen experience. Will it take washed out pictures that won’t be instagram worthy? Yes. Will it ever affect me? No.

Oh yeah btw, this ‘unobstructed clear glass’ for the 20th anniversary edition iPhone will most likely be a slightly curved display on the edges to give off the illusion of no bezels, the rest of the phone will most likely be similar. It won’t be this full curved display as it would be impractical and would go against the repairability of the phone.

And I'm already kinda dissatisfied with any selfie camera. I wish they made it better by putting a massive sensor in that huge camera bump that now sits behind the island.

There are already devices like gopro and insta360 which put has a screen on the back and front along with a massive sensor. Idk why you want it on the Front display unless you want a massive black blob at the top of your screen. It would honestly look goofy.

Apple shouldn't sacrifice photo quality, something that's part of their identity (very, very weird that redmagic did it, and I don't like most pictures taken with that array of low quality sensors) to how clean and "futuristic" the screen looks.

Redmagic did this because it catered to their audience, gaming doesn’t require you to have a front camera and most front camera notches just disturbs gameplay like access to buttons are worse, removing the front camera and putting it under display just makes the issue inexistent. Cameras are not top priority for them and they don’t have to be.

That only affects your personal experience in the moment while the quality of pictures affects something you share, something other people see from your phone, and something that will last longer that the phone itself. For what? Not even a practical advantage, just cleaner looks.

And the only cameras I need is the rear camera, the front is camera is useless for me. If I needed a camera decidated phone then I would probably value a front notch and a huge camera bump, but I don’t so getting a smooth uninterrupted screen so a under display camera is the next best thing.

 

[ThomasJL]

No matter how small Dynamic Island is, it’s still a notch. If Apple were to do the sensible thing of bringing back bezels, there wouldn’t be any need for Dynamic Notchland.

 

[mansplains]

really? that's it?

what's the point. i mean sure it's good they can shrink it but i don't see what benefit this has.

looks like i'm good to wait for the next update for an even smaller DI or even an all screen phone.

The benefit is there will be enough space to display the carrier name again! I need constant reminders of who I pay for cell service.

 

[Serrafemme]

Please, God, let it be available in black…

 

[cicalinarrot]

Ummm… ok, but how many times do people even use the front camera anyway. I practically use it 0.1% of the time so having no notch for me is the biggest upgrade ever. It doesn’t get in the way of any content, you get an actual full screen experience. Will it take washed out pictures that won’t be instagram worthy? Yes. Will it ever affect me? No.

Don't think that's how most people use it but again... good pictures make a very clear and permanent practical difference to those who care. I don't think that should ever be forgotten for the sake of how the phone looks.

Oh yeah btw, this ‘unobstructed clear glass’ for the 20th anniversary edition iPhone will most likely be a slightly curved display on the edges to give off the illusion of no bezels, the rest of the phone will most likely be similar. It won’t be this full curved display as it would be impractical and would go against the repairability of the phone.

Not what I was talking about and I agree it wouldn't be the best idea but still better than having pixels in front of it.

There are already devices like gopro and insta360 which put has a screen on the back and front along with a massive sensor. Idk why you want it on the Front display unless you want a massive black blob at the top of your screen. It would honestly look goofy.

I just said I think an iPhone, with the shape and punch holes it has now could hold a bigger sensor for the front camera.

Redmagic did this because it catered to their audience, gaming doesn’t require you to have a front camera and most front camera notches just disturbs gameplay like access to buttons are worse, removing the front camera and putting it under display just makes the issue inexistent. Cameras are not top priority for them and they don’t have to be.

You're right here. I just assumed by the sheer number of cameras they could care or pretend to. But they don't have to and it's nice that there's a brand for people who really don't care about selfie quality. But Apple isn't like that and I don't think it should ever be.

And the only cameras I need is the rear camera, the front is camera is useless for me.

the front is camera is useless for me.

for me

You see where I'm going? A lot of people use the front camera a lot. Many professionals do. And they just wouldn't buy an iPhone if the front camera took bad pictures.
It cannot be the next big thing if it makes things worse for many users in an area where Apple has always been proud to be the top player. I really think the phisical limitations (less light and deviated) will never be made unnoticeable enough for Apple to use it on regular phones, even if a special model may deviate from the norm.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

Hold on here.

The photo shown by Instant Digital of the Face ID parts DOES show the IR camera on the left side, since what we're seeing there is a part with a lens whose front surface has the typical Face ID camera's more pronounced anti-glare coating that causes this surface to look brighter than the front surface of the RGB/selfie camera's lens, whose anti-glare coating isn't as pronounced. Below this part is what appears to be the two little stubs of the IR flood illuminator tucked below it, and the IR dot projector is further to the right, to the left of the RGB/selfie camera, where it's been for some time, as is identified by the slightly yellow-orange color of the projector's top surface, which hasn't changed for some years.

So if the photo supplied by Instant Digital is of a real production-ready assembly that shows where the parts will be located in the iPhone 18 (Pros only?), then it's showing that the IR camera will also be moved under the upper left corner of the display, along with the flood illuminator.

So is The Information, Instant Digital, etc. trying to push back on what's shown in the photo that they provided? That seems to make no sense, given where it shows the Face ID IR camera.

Currently it's tougher to move the IR dot projector under the display than the IR camera, since the dot projector relies on precisely projecting its dots, which the pixel layer in current display technology would interfere with, even if the pixels above the projector were turned off when the projector is activated. Moving the flood illuminator under the display is the easiest step, so it would make sense if Apple is moving this part first, but Instant Digital's photo implies Apple may have also figured out how to move the IR camera under the display.

But it's possible that the assembly shown in the photo is just an experimental arrangement being used by Apple to see whether some new display technology it's currently testing will actually allow the IR light dots bouncing off the user's face to pass through this display and reach the IR camera in a way that won't interfere with Face ID's banking-level biometrics. If so, we don't know yet whether this experimental arrangement has proven itself to work to Apple's specs well enough yet to install it in the iPhone 18. If it's not ready yet, then it may not be until the 2027 iPhones that the IR camera will move under the display.

In any case, it seems that at least the flood illuminator will move under the display for the 2026/iPhone 18 models, but given the relatively small size of this part, it wouldn't seem that moving just this alone would allow the length of the Dynamic Island's cutout to be significantly shorter.

 

[svish]

Looks like it won't be even a hole punch. Just a smaller dynamic island and it means FaceID does not go under the screen. Looks like Apple will go all screen with under screen FaceID and camera for 20th anniversary and have to see how dynamic island will be then.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

Looks like it won't be even a hole punch. Just a smaller dynamic island and it means FaceID does not go under the screen. Looks like Apple will go all screen with under screen FaceID and camera for 20th anniversary and have to see how dynamic island will be then.

If Instant Digital's photo is representative of the actual parts arrangement that will be in the iPhone 18 (Pros only?), then both Face ID's flood illuminator and its IR camera will be under the upper left corner of the display, though Face ID's dot projector and selfie camera will remain at the top center, under a smaller Dynamic Island cutout.

 

[mcled53]

Apple, please 🎅
Make us an incredible iPhone.
An iPhone you can place on a table and that stays stable, even without a case.
I’ve been good, I promise.

Just put the phone face down.

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

Get rid of the Dynamic Island, please!

 

[I7guy]

Ummm… ok, but how many times do people even use the front camera anyway. I practically use it 0.1% of the time so having no notch for me is the biggest upgrade ever. It doesn’t get in the way of any content, you get an actual full screen experience. Will it take washed out pictures that won’t be instagram worthy? Yes. Will it ever affect me? No.

[…]

I use the front camera a lot. FaceTime and selfies are obviously the two biggest use cases and I do both frequently. So having a strong performer is important.