According to the latest supply chain news quoted by the well-known breaking account "Digital Chat Station", the previously rumored plan to reduce the "Dynamic Island" opening of the iPhone 18 Pro series may not be realized this year. He said that the iPhone 18 Pro series models are expected to reuse part of the mold and body design of the previous generation products. The Face ID module and Smart Island area will "basically remain unchanged", and the original plan to move Face ID down to the bottom of the screen and further shrink the opening seems to have been postponed to the subsequent generation of products.
Reports indicate that the main upgrade points of the iPhone 18 Pro this year will focus on the A20 Pro chip with a 2-nanometer process, a battery capacity of more than 5,000 mAh, and a new generation of camera hardware with a larger aperture.
Industry rumors have been divided over the past year over whether the iPhone 18 Pro will shrink the iPhone 18 Pro. Multiple sources have previously said that Apple is evaluating the solution of using under-screen Face ID and punch-hole proactive camera, and that the existing smart island will no longer be retained. In January this year, Weibo whistleblower "Sena Digital", whistleblower account ShrimpApplePro and display industry analyst Ross Young all said that the new phone will be equipped with a narrower smart island area. Subsequently, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman also made a similar statement, saying that the area of the iPhone 18 Pro’s Smart Island will be reduced. Against this background, the latest statement from the digital chat site is obviously "going against the wind", but it is not without precedent.
The report mentioned that a similar script had been staged on the iPhone 17 Pro: there were earlier rumors that the phone would introduce a smaller smart island opening, but the size of the smart island of the final mass-produced model remained the same as the previous generation. Judging from Apple's long-term plan, the industry generally believes that its ultimate goal is to create a single-piece glass iPhone with "no openings on the front." Relevant expectations have even pointed to the "iPhone 20th Anniversary" model that is expected to be launched in 2027. Under this evolutionary path, under-screen Face ID, under-screen proactive photography, and the complete cancellation of Smart Island are regarded as key nodes for gradual advancement in the next few years.
According to the current pace, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still expected to be officially released in the fall of 2026 as usual. If the news about mold reuse and unchanged front openings comes true, the changes in the front appearance of the iPhone 18 Pro may be relatively limited, and Apple will support the product selling points of this year's Pro series through "internal upgrades" such as processors, batteries, and cameras.