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🤏 Apple is rumored to make the Dynamic Island smaller for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
👀 Rumors suggest that this involves moving Face ID dot illuminator under the screen, plus a smaller front-facing camera
🤔 There are lots of sources suggesting the same thing, increasing the viability of the rumor as we approach the release date of these next iPhones
🤷♂️ Previous rumors had suggested that Apple could ditch the Dynamic Island altogether
The upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models could be set to have a smaller Dynamic Island, according to reports.
According to reputable Apple tipster Mark Gurman with Bloomberg, the new flagship iPhone 18 models will reduce the size of the Dynamic Island first introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models back in 2022.
We’ve seen lots of rumors swirling around that Apple could remove the Dynamic Island or replace it with a holepunch selfie camera with under screen Face ID with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, although we aren’t there just yet it seems.
Leakers on Weibo and other social media sites have also backed up Gurman’s report that Apple is set to make the Dynamic Island smaller with the upcoming iPhone models, rather than getting rid of it completely.
These rumors began to pick up in late 2025 and early 2026, and the fact we’re seeing multiple sources converge on the same train of thought on a particular topic is usually a good sign of what might occur. It is worth remembering that there were similar rumors with the iPhone 17 Pro in 2025 that didn’t come to fruition.
The other rumors pertaining to under-display Face ID and no Dynamic Island for the iPhone 18 Pro came earlier in 2025, so it would seem they were just guessing, or that Apple has potentially pushed this idea back to a future device.
For the smaller Dynamic Island to be possible, Apple is poised to put the Face ID dot illuminator under the phone’s display, with further speculation suggesting this will employ a smaller front-facing camera. The front-facing camera, Face ID dot projector and IR camera are expected to be housed ‘in’ the Dynamic Island, rather than under the phone’s display.
Supposedly, Apple is also wanting to create an iPhone with no cutouts that’s a slab of glass that we may see for the 20th anniversary of the handset in 2027, although this isn’t going to happen later this year with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models, it seems.
Recent leaks have also suggested that the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models will come in a left-field colorway that Apple hasn’t used in years.
Up next: Apple will start manufacturing the Mac mini in the US later this year
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.
