The iPhone 18 Pro has a smaller Dynamic Island and keeps Face ID, according to Apple’s press release. Apple has not explained how it reduced the cutout without removing the sensors that make Face ID work.
The Dynamic Island has always housed the front camera and the Face ID hardware, so its size has been tied to those components since it arrived. That is what makes the reduction notable, and it is what Apple left unexplained on stage and in its iPhone 18 Pro announcement.
What Apple confirmed about the Dynamic Island and Face ID
- The Dynamic Island is smaller than on the iPhone 17 Pro.
- It shows up to three Live Activities at once.
- Face ID is retained.
- Apple did not announce changes to the front camera.
The three-Live-Activities feature was the part that leaked before the event. Our Dynamic Island leak report described it ahead of the keynote, and Apple’s release confirmed it.
Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer
Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.
What Apple has not said
Apple’s release does not give the new island’s dimensions or say by how much it shrank. It also does not say whether the Face ID components were made smaller, combined, rearranged or moved beneath the display.
Apple has not said whether Face ID itself changed in speed, angle or security as a result. Nothing in the release suggests it did, but nothing rules it out either.
How it might work, and why we are not certain
The following is analysis, not Apple’s explanation. Face ID relies on a set of components that project and read an infrared pattern, and those sit alongside the front camera inside the island, so any reduction has to come from making those parts smaller, packing them closer together or moving some of them out of the visible cutout.
Apple’s silence on the front camera is the one useful clue. Because Apple announced no front camera changes, the reduction most likely came from the Face ID side rather than from a new camera module, though Apple has not confirmed that.
What is clear is that Apple chose to keep Face ID rather than switch to an alternative to gain space. That contrasts with the pre-event reporting on the iPhone Duo, which pointed to a Touch ID side button on the foldable, though Apple has not confirmed that detail either.
For buyers, the outcome is straightforward: Face ID works as before, and the island takes less of the screen. Teardowns after the September 18 launch should show what Apple changed inside, and we will update once Apple’s spec pages or repair documentation add detail.
Pre-orders open Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. PT. You can revisit the moment Apple showed the new island in our Apple event live blog.
