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iPhone 18 Pro With Under-Screen Face ID Now Rumored to Feature Smaller Dynamic Island

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Counterpoint Research VP Ross Young today cast doubt on the 20th-anniversary iPhone featuring a truly all-screen design, but he still expects Apple to make some progress towards that ambitious goal over the next few iPhone generations.

iPhone-14-Pro-Dynamic-Island.jpg

In a post on X today, Young reiterated that at least some new iPhones launching in 2026 will be equipped with under-screen Face ID. While he did not mention any specific models, he is very likely referring to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Despite the move to under-screen Face ID, Young said that the 2026 iPhone models will still have some visible Face ID elements, and for this reason he believes that the devices will still have a "notch" (aka the Dynamic Island), but he said that it will be "smaller" compared to the one on the iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 16 models.

Young's information seems to conflict with a report last month from The Information's Wayne Ma that said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max would have "only a small hole cutout in the top-left corner to accommodate the front-facing camera." This wording suggested that the devices might not have a Dynamic Island at all, but Young has implied that there will still be a smaller Dynamic Island, which would still be an improvement.

In his Power On newsletter over the weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also said that Apple would shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on at least some iPhone models launching next year, so there are now multiple sources who believe that iPhone 18 models will still have a smaller Dynamic Island rather than only a front camera hole.

Young said he is unsure if the front camera hole will nonetheless be moved to the top-left corner of the iPhone 18 screen, or if it will remain more centered.

Young does expect all Face ID elements to eventually be moved under the screen, but he now believes that change will not happen until 2028.

Article Link: iPhone 18 Pro With Under-Screen Face ID Now Rumored to Feature Smaller Dynamic Island
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/06/23/iphone-18-pro-smaller-dynamic-island-rumor/
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I was waiting for Ross to cast doubt again. I predict that the iphone 19 at best will be Apples first punch hole design & that the claimed full screen iphone may be years away.
 
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Can they just be straight up about it? Look, our goal is to have no notch/island at all. But we’re not there yet. Here’s what you get this year.

Instead of just searching for a reason for it to exist and then acting like it’s the ideal.
 
Imagine actually being paid to be a tech research/analyst, coming out with this insightful guff.

Admittedly above the self-important wannabe influencers like Prosser in the parasitic food chain, but not by much.

Contribution to society, net zero.
 
bpa1093 said:
Can they just be straight up about it? Look, our goal is to have no notch/island at all. But we’re not there yet. Here’s what you get this year.

Instead of just searching for a reason for it to exist and then acting like it’s the ideal.
Click to expand...
The Notch was marketed as an actual design feature remember. Not an interim compromise.

Ramped it up 10x with Dynamic Island, which has been repeatedly shown off as something akin to the iPhone/iOS equivalent of the old MBP Touch Bar.
 
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thiscatisfat said:
Apple is so boring nowadays.
Click to expand...

^^^ 100%

For years I was an annual upgrader. Last year I couldn't even force myself to be interested in the new phone or watch. Their lack of creativity and attempts to keep the consumer love alive has led me down a path of total lethargy. Tim's stockholder focus has ruined what was an amazing company that shaped technological excitement for years.
 
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If Samsung hasn't done an all screen smartphone (S line) yet then I doubt Apple will anytime soon. We all know Samsung likes to jump the gun. If the S27 series (early 2027) is all screen then I could see Apple pulling it off when the 20th Anniversary iPhone is announced in September 2027.
 
I’m just going to get the Dynamic Island iPhone 17 Pro Max. It’s not that bad and hopefully 4 years after that there will be an iPhone that is full screen. I want the notch on the iPhone finally fixed too, but in the grand scheme of things it really doesn’t impact how I use my phone that much.
 
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indychris said:
^^^ 100%

For years I was an annual upgrader. Last year I couldn't even force myself to be interested in the new phone or watch. Their lack of creativity and attempts to keep the consumer love alive has led me down a path of total lethargy. Tim's stockholder focus has ruined what was an amazing company that shaped technological excitement for years.
Click to expand...

The Apple we were used to would have a notch on 10 and 10S, dynamic island on 11 and 11S (or 12) and edge to edge display on 13, or 14 at the very latest. We're on iPhone 17 now and we're still talking about a dynamic island while the latest 2025 iPhone 16e has a NOTCH. Apple we knew is gone.
 
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