- iPhone 18 Pro could shrink the Dynamic Island width by around 35 percent, making the screen look cleaner.
- The change is expected on iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, with standard models possibly keeping the current cutout.
- Apple may reduce the cutout by moving some Face ID hardware under the display.
- iPhone 18 screens are also rumored to get significantly brighter, potentially setting a new high for iPhone visibility outdoors.
For the last few iPhone generations, Apple’s biggest display changes have been easy to measure but harder to notice. Screens have grown slightly, bezels have tightened, and brightness has crept upward, yet one thing has stayed stubbornly familiar: the Dynamic Island.
That pill shaped cutout has been sitting at the top of Pro iPhones since the iPhone 14 Pro launched in 2022. It was a welcome upgrade from the old notch, and it gave Apple a clever space to show live activities and alerts. But visually, it has looked the same year after year. If a new leak is accurate, that may finally change with the iPhone 18 Pro.
A well known leaker, Ice Universe, claims Apple is planning a major resize of the cutout on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The report says the Dynamic Island width is shrinking from 20.76mm to 13.49mm, which works out to roughly a 35 percent reduction. That is not a small tweak.
It is the kind of difference you would spot instantly, even if you are not the sort of person who reads phone rumors for fun.
In other words, the iPhone 18 Pro might deliver the most obvious screen refresh Apple has offered in years, without needing to go fully “all screen” just yet.
Smaller cutout, bigger impact
A narrower Dynamic Island would change the personality of the iPhone’s front view in a way that size bumps never really do. Even if the overall display dimensions stay similar, a reduced cutout makes the whole top edge feel cleaner and more modern. It is the kind of upgrade that triggers that familiar reaction in real life: someone sees your phone across a table and knows you upgraded.
This also helps Apple keep the Dynamic Island concept alive. The feature has always walked a line between being useful and being a reminder that the phone still has visible hardware interrupting the display. If Apple can keep the software experience while reducing the visual footprint, it gets the best of both worlds.
The interesting question is how Apple would manage it. The current Dynamic Island houses the front camera and Face ID components. A smaller opening suggests Apple may be shifting some of that tech under the display, at least partially.
One possibility is that the flood illuminator could move beneath the panel, reducing the space needed for visible sensors. Apple has been working toward this direction for years, and a step like this would feel like a natural midpoint between today’s cutout and a true under display camera future.
It also lines up with earlier chatter that Apple was exploring changes to the front camera placement, though those rumors became messy fast. This leak, however, is more specific and easier to understand: same idea, smaller shape.
Which iPhones might miss out
As usual, the big display redesign is rumored to be Pro only. That would not be surprising. Apple has a long history of keeping its most noticeable visual upgrades for the Pro models first, then letting them trickle down later.
It is worth remembering that the standard iPhone did not get Dynamic Island immediately when the iPhone 14 Pro introduced it. The regular model had to wait. If Apple repeats that strategy, the iPhone 18 could stick with the current size cutout while the iPhone 18 Pro gets the sleeker version.
There is also talk that another model may not get the change either, depending on Apple’s release plans. Some reports suggest certain premium variants may launch later, which complicates what “the iPhone 18 lineup” really means.
Still, if Apple is positioning a device as premium, it is hard to imagine it missing a design update that is both practical and visually marketable.
If the cutout shrink is tied to expensive new display or sensor tech, it becomes even more likely that Apple will reserve it for the Pro models first.
A brighter iPhone 18 display could be the quiet upgrade that matters most
While the Dynamic Island story is the headline grabber, another leak points to a different kind of display improvement for the iPhone 18 range: brightness.
A separate report suggests Apple’s brightness requirements for iPhone 18 panels are so demanding that a major supplier may struggle to meet them. That implies Apple is aiming for a noticeable jump in real world visibility, especially outdoors. And that is the kind of upgrade you appreciate every single day, even if it never shows up in a spec comparison argument online.
The current iPhone 17 display is already strong, with a typical brightness around 1,000 nits, a peak HDR brightness around 1,600 nits, and an outdoor peak brightness up to 3,000 nits. If Apple wants to go beyond that, it is pushing into territory where heat management, power efficiency, and panel quality become much harder to balance.
What makes this particularly interesting is that recent iPhones have kept brightness fairly consistent between standard and Pro models. If Apple raises the ceiling for the iPhone 18, it is likely the iPhone 18 Pro will rise too.
Apple rarely allows the non Pro phone to beat the Pro in a headline display metric, especially now that the regular iPhone has started to match premium features like smoother refresh rates.
So even if the Dynamic Island redesign becomes the flashy visual upgrade, brightness could be the improvement you actually feel most.
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