iPhone 18 to Feature Slimmer Dynamic Island: Get Ready for a Sleeker Design!

In September 2026, Apple is expected to debut its iPhone 18 lineup, which will feature a narrower Dynamic Island for the first time since the feature’s introduction with the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022. According to Instant Digital, the change won’t be as dramatic as some might hope; the black notch housing the front sensors will only be “slightly narrower”, and there are no plans to replace it with a mere circular punch-out for the Center Stage camera.

In June of the previous year, Mark Gurman had verified earlier speculations: “Apple is going to reduce the size of the Dynamic Island” on the iPhone 18 Pro (suggesting that the standard iPhone 18 might not see this change), though he did not elaborate further. Building on this information, analyst Ross Young confirmed the modification but noted that certain Face ID components would still be visible within the Dynamic Island. It wouldn’t be until the iPhone 20 Pro in 2028 that Apple would manage to house all the sensors beneath the OLED panel, except for the webcam. Furthermore, the circular punch-out would not disappear until 2030, as integrating the camera beneath the OLED panel’s pixels presents a particularly complex challenge.