iPhone 18 Pro May Not Have a Smaller Dynamic Island After All

[MacRumors]

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models may not have a smaller Dynamic Island after all, despite rumors suggesting that it would see a reduction in size this year, according to a known leaker.

Citing recent supply chain information, the leaker known as "Digital Chat Station" claims that the iPhone 18 Pro models may reuse some of their predecessor's molds and chassis designs. Face ID and the Dynamic Island will remain "largely unchanged," with plans to implement under-display Face ID and shrink the size of the Dynamic Island apparently now delayed to the following generation. Instead, the main upgrades will be the 2nm A20 Pro, a 5,000mAh+ battery, and improved large-aperture camera hardware.

There has been considerable disagreement between reliable sources on the iPhone 18 Pro's Dynamic Island. 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.

In January, things seemed to become clearer when Weibo leaker "Instant Digital," "ShrimpApplePro," and DSCC's Ross Young supported the rumor of a narrower Dynamic Island. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman then independently reported that the device would have a smaller Dynamic Island.

Thus the latest rumor from "Digital Chat Station" seems to go against the grain, but it is not out of the question. 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.

In the long term, Apple apparently wants to create an iPhone that's a slab of glass with no cutouts, and we may see that with the 20th anniversary iPhone in 2027. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to launch in the fall of 2026.

Article Link: iPhone 18 Pro May Not Have a Smaller Dynamic Island After All

 

[derdante]

As a hater of the dynamic island in its current form, I hope this isn't true. Gonna wait what Ross Young has to say.

 

[Biro]

I’m not worried about dynamic island - I don’t even notice it. I REALLY don’t want an all-glass phone, though.

 

[Mother Nature]

This must be a joke. It’s been 4 generations, I don’t believe its that hard to reduce the size of the Dynamic Island.

0 meaningful camera hardware updates since the 14 PRO series for the main sensor, plus not reduced Island will make the 18 Pro a disappointing upgrade

 

[DBZmusicboy01]

Not even a 10% decrease? 🥺
What’s even the point? Might as well start a 2 year release cycle if they can’t finish a good enough upgrade.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I’m not worried about dynamic island - I don’t even notice it. I REALLY don’t want an all-glass phone, though.

Sides and such?

Eek. I want more durability, not fragility.

 

[onenorth]

This must be a joke. It’s been 4 generations, I don’t believe its that hard to reduce the size of the Dynamic Island.

0 meaningful camera hardware updates since the 14 PRO series for the main sensor, plus not reduced Island will make the 18 Pro a disappointing upgrade

I'm still quite happy with my 14 Pro. It was a significant upgrade from the 12 I had before. Nothing since then has enticed me to upgrade again.

 

[repoman016]

Not even a 10% decrease? 🥺
What’s even the point? Might as well start a 2 year release cycle if they can’t finish a good enough upgrade.

But think of the shareholders! 😩

In all seriousness I agree with this with most tech yearly cycles. But, they do it for a reason! And someone way smarter than me knows why (but I could take a pretty good guess)

 

[Ursadorable]

More flip flops than a fish.

 

[rweiser]

OK, so the rumors for today are:

• "MacBook Neo 2 Might Not Feature Touchscreen After All"
• "iPhone 18 Pro May Not Have a Smaller Dynamic Island After All"
• "iPhone 18 Pro Prices Still Likely to Hold Firm This Year"

You heard it here first, people!

 

[musicmachine]

people on the fence of pro or fold now have easier decision. Maybe intentional??

 

[BorisDG]

Foldable phones are bad - ugly and not durable. Slab FTW 🙂

 

[HouseLannister]

So to sum up: the 18 Pro will be heavier and thicker with a larger camera plateau and it will remove the sapphire crystal on the camera control to cut costs. Sounds awesome! /s

 

[I7guy]

I like the Dynamic Island. Not only useful but it’s easy to spot iPhones from the distance. (FWIW)

 

[CarAnalogy]

This must be a joke. It’s been 4 generations, I don’t believe its that hard to reduce the size of the Dynamic Island.

0 meaningful camera hardware updates since the 14 PRO series for the main sensor, plus not reduced Island will make the 18 Pro a disappointing upgrade

Mother Nature is displeased rising sea levels don’t seem to be rising fast enough.

 

[CarAnalogy]

At this point just leave it until they can make it go away entirely with the exact same level of performance. I never liked the look of pinholes. And due to the aspect ratio of the phone, that area is rarely used. It doesn’t bother me nearly as much as I thought it would coming from a notch phone.

 

[Ursadorable]

So to sum up: the 18 Pro will be heavier and thicker with a larger camera plateau and it will remove the sapphire crystal on the camera control to cut costs. Sounds awesome! /s

Wait until tomorrow for the article claiming the opposite.

 

[Farquar]

Just need to point out that there have been reports of Face ID going under the display going back to 2017, and it STILL is not happening. Truth is: it never was.

 

[cmontyburns]

I wish MR would stop calling it the "Dynamic Island". That's not what these rumors are talking about.

The Dynamic Island is the software feature that expands out and around the camera and sensor hardware module. It can be as big or small as Apple likes, at any time.

These rumors are talking about the camera and sensor hardware module. The Dynamic Island around the module may very stay just the size it is, even if the module shrinks. MR should stop confusing the two things.

 

[HouseLannister]

I wish MR would stop calling it the "Dynamic Island". That's not what these rumors are talking about.

The Dynamic Island is the software feature that expands out and around the camera and sensor hardware module. It can be as big or small as Apple likes, at any time.

These rumors are talking about the camera and sensor hardware module. The Dynamic Island around the module may very stay just the size it is, even if the module shrinks. MR should stop confusing the two things.

Good point. I'm going with Dynamic Punchout. It just goes to show you how strong Apple's use of buzzwords is. They come up with it and it becomes part of our grammar in such an abnormally normalized way. We would have never called a camera hump a "plateau" in 2024, but here we are.

 

[mlayer]

It makes sense to provide the smaller Dynamic Island on the Ultra or 20th anniversary iPhone and bring it to scale of future Pro revs.

 

[SAIRUS]

Maybe Tim realized they should of done Touch ID with a hole punch after working with foldables?

The worst part, they had this Touch ID tech on iPads.

 

[Yr Blues]

Stick it in the bezel like the MBN. Eventually they'll get good enough to shrink the bezel with all the components inside.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

That thing that Apple decided on at least 2 years ago is still what Apple decided it would be and haven’t changed… regardless of how many leakers said otherwise. 🙂

 

[zenmacx]

Just need to point out that there have been reports of Face ID going under the display going back to 2017, and it STILL is not happening. Truth is: it never was.

Apple is nothing if not clever and greedy.

They know that many buyers would prefer no notch so they dangle the carrot and talk about a future iPhone without it.

Conversely, one very important aspect of the notch is making the iPhone instantly recognizable as such.

Finally by keeping it exactly as it is Apple maximizes profits by not changing it.

Those who believe that Apple can do no wrong are quick to tell us how much they love the notch. Or at a minimum how their eyes don't even notice it. Blind loyalty.