The iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the iPhone Ultra are just days away from being officially unveiled by Apple. Among these three devices, I am most excited for the Pro model, as it is rumored to receive some important upgrades. And of all the reported upgrades, I'm really looking forward to seeing one particular change in action on the iPhone 18 Pro.
Smaller Dynamic Island
The Dynamic Island was first introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro, and since then Apple has offered it across all its smartphones. It's surely not as wide as the notch you get on non Dynamic Island phones like the iPhone 14, but I still think it's big enough to affect my viewing experience. It would have been better if Apple had actually made it a bit smaller in size.
Turns out the company thinks the same, as the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models are reported to come with a smaller Dynamic Island. Reports indicate that Apple is planning to reduce the width from 20.06 mm to 13.5 mm.
A privacy glass screen protector of what appears to be of the iPhone 18 Pro has also recently surfaced online, and the Dynamic Island cutout in it appears to be smaller. This all but backs up all the previous rumors that this year's iPhone will indeed have a smaller cutout on the front.
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Which iPhone 18 Pro change are you most excited about?
Why is a smaller Dynamic Island a big deal?
A smaller Dynamic Island would certainly not mean that Apple would remove any of its capabilities. I think it is related to hardware miniaturization. That said, I believe the end user would experience various benefits because of the smaller cutout in the iPhone display.
The first is obviously more usable screen space, which basically means that, compared to before, less of the screen would be physically obstructed. This will ultimately help improve the viewing experience, especially when watching videos or playing games. Furthermore, shrinking the size of the Dynamic Island would ultimately make the display look cleaner, unlike what you have in current models, where it sometimes appears like a black blob placed at the top center of the screen.
The most important benefit I see here is that it could be the first step toward a full-screen iPhone. After reducing the size of the Dynamic Island in this year's iPhone model, Apple might consider adopting the punch-hole camera approach in the iPhone 20. In fact, the surfaced renders do suggest that Apple's 20th-anniversary iPhone could feature a bezel-less screen and a punch-hole selfie camera.
Then, sometime in the future, the tech giant might be able to place all the front-facing sensors under the display, which would eventually allow it to offer a full-screen iPhone.
Don't miss out on reading the following iPhone 18 series-related stories:
It's not only me; many Apple fans apparently do not like the current size of the Dynamic Island. I came across plenty of posts and comments on Reddit that basically say that Apple needs to work on the size of the cutout.
iPhone 17 user not liking the big cut out of Dynamic Island. | Image by Reddit
A Reddit user commented under a relevant post that they really like the functionality of the Dynamic Island on their iPhone 17 but hate its large cutout. Another user, who appears to have an iPhone 16 Pro Max, believes that a change in the Dynamic Island's size would be one of the biggest improvements in this year's iPhone.
The iPhone 18 Pro might be the iPhone to get this year
In addition to a smaller Dynamic Island, the iPhone 18 Pro is rumored to receive plenty of other upgrades, like an all-new A20 Pro chip, a better battery, LTPO+ displays, and much more. All these changes are tempting me to purchase the Pro model this year.
Aman Kumar is a news writer at PhoneArena covering Google Pixel phones, Android features, AI-powered smartphone tools, and mobile tech news. Before joining PhoneArena, he spent over five years writing about consumer technology for publications like MakeUseOf, How-To Geek, and Guiding Tech. His current daily drivers are the Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, while his red iPhone SE (2nd gen) remains a personal favorite. Aman also appreciates bold smartphone experiments and still considers the Nokia N-Gage one of the industry’s most iconic designs.
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