A new report from The Information has information that, if true, will represent a huge shift in the iPhone’s iconic look. We’ve been through bezels, notches, and Dynamic Islands, but the iPhone’s front camera has always been located more or less in the center of the phone – often just to the side of the top earpiece.
According to the report from Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu, Apple is going to put the Face ID sensors under the display on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. This will reduce the entire front cutout to a simple punch-hole for the camera, which Apple will then move to the upper-left corner of the display. It is unclear with this will mean for the Dynamic Island software features. Will the iPhone 18 Pro simply not have them? Will they appear in the center of the screen when needed, and disappear when not? Will they move over to the corner, where the small circular cutout for the front camera will be?
The report says that, otherwise, the iPhone 18 Pro models will look very much like the iPhone 17 Pro. So expect the same rear camera arrangement and wide “plateau” on the back. The report also corroborates earlier rumors that at least one iPhone 18 Pro model will have a camera with a mechanical aperture. This will allow Apple to use a larger sensor that has better low-light performance, while closing the aperture in bright light to prevent the image from being overexposed.
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in September of 2026, along with a new folding iPhone and perhaps a second-generation iPhone Air. The standard iPhone 18, however, has been rumored to be released in the spring of 2027, a significant change form Apple’s usual release cadence.
Author: Jason Cross, Senior Editor, Macworld
Jason has written about technology for more than 25 years - first in the gaming press, then focusing on enthusiast PCs and general technology. He enjoys learning how complicated technology works and explaining it in a way anyone can understand.