Do you love the iPhone 17 Pro’s two-tone aluminum and glass design? Don’t get too used to it.
GF Securities tech analyst Jeff Pu, who has a reliable track record of sleuthing through the supply chain to predict what Apple is working on, says next year’s “iPhone 18 Pro” series will have two defining features that differentiate it from the iPhone 17 Pro / 17 Pro Max that just launched in September.
According to a report seen by 9to5Mac, Apple could finally shrink down the Dynamic Island, the pill-shaped cutout that makes up the front-facing camera and TrueDepth sensor for Face ID. The Dynamic Island was introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022. Unlike typical hole-punch selfie cameras on Android phones, Apple surprised everyone with its ability to show notifications and live activities such as music controls, timers, and rideshare arrival and food delivery times.
© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
The Dynamic Island isn’t going away, it’s just getting smaller, according to Pu. And thank god, because it’s way more intrusive than the notch on older iPhones. Don’t believe me? Just go watch videos in full screen in a bunch of apps and observe how they all optimize for the Dynamic Island differently. Some show the cutout as a black pill; others just make the video smaller to avoid it or fit partially around it. Pu, unfortunately, didn’t say how much smaller the Dynamic Island will be on the iPhone 18 Pro series, so we’ll have to wait until next fall.
The other widely speculated change for the iPhone 18 Pro is a tweak to the two-tone design. Apple is reportedly planning to change the glass cutout to make it blend more with the aluminum frame, matching the anodized metal better. While this won’t matter at all for people who use a case, the cutout—most visible on the silver iPhone 17 Pros—has felt a little out of place. The glass pane is necessary for wireless charging, but it doesn’t make for a seamless design.
Pu is also expecting Apple to release the iPhone 17e, a refresh to the iPhone 16e, in “mid-Q126,” which would likely launch in the spring. The more affordable iPhone 17 could have an A19 chip and an 18-megapixel Center Stage camera, two features in the iPhone 17. Both would be notable considering the “SE” and the “E” iPhones are typically devices with several-generations-old parts to keep pricing low.
With Tim Cook potentially ready to vacate the CEO position, Apple’s future has never been more unpredictable. Perhaps it’s time to literally switch things up.
