Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Macworld reports that the Apple iPhone 18 Pro may have the first-ever Dynamic Island redesign, making it significantly smaller than current models.
- The redesign could use microtransparent glass technology to hide the front sensors under the display, bringing it closer to a truly full-screen experience.
- Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman confirms these rumors and suggests that the change aims to minimize screen obstructions and improve user immersion in viewing.
Ever since Apple launched the iPhone X in 2017, customers have been asking when they’ll finally get full-screen access.
First, an unsightly notch was cut on the top. That notch shrank in 2021, then was replaced the following year by a dynamic island that housed the front-facing cameras and sensors in a pill-shaped cutout that’s actually functional. The dynamic island is undoubtedly an improvement, but it’s still a hindrance: turn the phone on its side to watch a movie and you’ll have to live with a black bar blocking a small part of the display.
One day Apple will release a truly all-screen phone and hide all the sensors and cameras under the display, but we’re pretty sure that day isn’t coming anytime soon. But while the technology remains expensive and difficult to deliver without compromising screen quality, we could be getting the next best thing: further downsizing and a potentially bold new look, with the iPhone 18 Pro now expected to get a redesigned, smaller version of Dynamic Island.
New support for the theory came in the briefest possible comment in an article written this week by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. While we’re discussing Dynamic Island coming to the MacBook Pro (something we’ve covered elsewhere), Gurman drops a single sentence that suggests he’s okay with the same screen element resizing on the iPhone.
“Apple is also planning a redesigned Dynamic Island for the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max this year, which is smaller,” he writes.
Such a bare assertion wouldn’t usually be particularly convincing, even if Gurman is one of the better-informed leakers on the circuit. But this is not a new idea. In December, a Chinese social media account claimed that Apple was testing a “micro-transparent glass panel” that would allow it to place some of the front-facing sensors under the display, shrinking the Dynamic Island or even reducing it to a small and barely noticeable circle. And something similar was suggested by The Information later that month.
So this should be seen as a confirmation of an existing theory rather than something new, and when multiple sources say the same thing, it starts to be worth listening to. It’s starting to sound convincing.
However, we’re still more than six months away from launch, so anything we hear should be taken with a degree of skepticism. Rumors abound; to keep up with it all, be sure to bookmark our iPhone 18 superguide. And to get you excited about (possible) big upgrades, check out 5 iPhone 18 rumors that will make you hate the phone you have now.