Apple plans major design and hardware changes for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. If you upgrade in 2026, you will likely notice the screen first. Apple plans to hide Face ID under the display and move the front camera to the top-left corner. This shift removes the familiar pill-shaped Dynamic Island.
According to a report by Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu from The Information, Apple will rely on under-screen Face ID technology for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The front camera will sit alone in a small hole at the top-left of the display. As a result, you will no longer see the Dynamic Island at the top of the screen.
Design changes you will notice
Even with these updates, Apple will keep the overall look close to the iPhone 17 Pro. The changes focus on the display layout, not a full redesign. Here is what you can expect.
- Under-screen Face ID sensors
- Front camera moved to the top-left corner
- No pill-shaped Dynamic Island
- Similar body design to iPhone 17 Pro
A new camera feature for more control
Apple also plans to improve the rear camera system. At least one rear camera may include a mechanical iris that allows variable aperture. This gives you direct control over how much light enters the lens.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said the 48-megapixel main camera will support variable aperture. You will be able to adjust the depth of field instead of shooting with a fixed opening. Current Pro models from iPhone 14 Pro to iPhone 17 Pro use a fixed ƒ/1.78 aperture that always stays fully open.
That said, iPhones still use smaller image sensors. Because of this, the real-world impact of variable aperture may remain limited for most users.
A20 Pro chip and new packaging technology
Apple plans to power the iPhone 18 Pro models with the A20 Pro chip, built using TSMC’s 2nm process. Apple also plans to switch to a new chip packaging method called Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module.
This design places RAM directly on the same wafer as the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine. You should see several benefits from this change.
- Faster overall performance
- Better Apple Intelligence performance
- Longer battery life
- Improved thermal management
- More internal space for other components
Apple expects to launch the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in September 2026. If these plans hold, you will see one of the biggest behind-the-scenes upgrades Apple has made to the iPhone in years.
