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Latest iPhone 18 Pro Leak Corroborated by Respected Former Analyst

Respected veteran display analyst Ross Young has added his support to a new leak today about the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design.

Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature
In a new post on X (Twitter), the now-retired Counterpoint Research VP said that Chinese leaker Instant Digital's latest explanation of how Apple will shrink the Dynamic Island is what he was alluding to in a report last year.

Back in June 2025, Young said that while some parts of Apple's Face ID system would move under the display on iPhone 18 Pro models, the devices would retain visible Face ID elements – meaning the Dynamic Island would persist, albeit in a smaller form than on the iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 17 Pro.

That's effectively what Instant Digital claimed earlier today: the leaker explained that only the IR flood illuminator would move under the display to the top-left corner, while the dot projector, infrared camera, and selfie camera would remain housed in a reduced, centered Dynamic Island. Another Chinese leaker has since backed the claim, which also corresponds to reporting last year by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Young's corroboration directly contradicts a recent report by The Information's Wayne Ma that said Apple would move the selfie camera to the top-left corner of the iPhone 18 Pro's display, resulting in a hole-punch cutout and the removal of the pill-shaped Dynamic Island.

It seems increasingly likely that details from Ma's sources were either lost in translation or misinterpreted, possibly due to partial knowledge of an under-display Face ID component.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro models in September.

Related Roundup: iPhone 18
Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

dustin_ Avatar
7 weeks ago
this design seemed obvious from the very beginning. they’re not gonna move the island just to kill it off the next generation. it shrinks, then dies, like the notch before.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProbablyDylan Avatar
7 weeks ago
In spite of our climate efforts sea levels continue to rise. To mirror this change in our products, we have reduced the "land" area of Dynamic Island.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sandstorm Avatar
7 weeks ago
Hope this is true, never liked the idea of corner camera.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HouseLannister Avatar
7 weeks ago
I think this is a controlled leak from Apple. Too many articles and posts trying to discredit the mistranslation and Prosser's speculation in such a short window of time. It's fascinating how quickly Apple can mobilize resources to course correct without ever saying anything on the record.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
7 weeks ago

I hope they call it the mini pill. 🙃
I could see Apple branding this as a Dynamic Islet.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
7 weeks ago
It makes more sense that Apple would continue to shrink the current cutout until they can get rid of it altogether than temporarily move the cutout to a different location.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)