The first unofficial images of the iPhone 18 Pro are making the rounds online, and if they’re accurate, Apple may be preparing one of its most dramatic front-facing design shifts in years. New 3D renders from designer ld_vova, reportedly based on early supply-chain chatter, show an iPhone that abandons the Dynamic Island entirely in favor of a single punch-hole camera tucked into the top-left corner of the display.
Yes, you read that right: a corner camera cutout on an iPhone—something that looks far closer to Android phones from a few years ago than any recent Apple hardware. It’s a move that would instantly change the visual identity Apple has been refining since the Dynamic Island debuted on the iPhone 14 Pro.
So why would Apple trade a signature UI element for a design that feels less “Apple”? The shift lines up with long-running reports claiming the company is working on fully under-display Face ID hardware. If Apple succeeds in hiding all biometric sensors beneath the OLED panel, the camera becomes the only component that still needs physical space. Moving it to the corner clears the central viewing area, potentially giving users an uninterrupted screen for video, gaming, and full-screen apps.
That leaves a bigger question: what happens to Dynamic Island? Over the past few years, it has become baked into iOS’s visual language, even spawning lookalike features across Android manufacturers. Removing it entirely would require Apple to rethink many UI behaviors—or quietly admit that the feature was a transitional step rather than a long-term design pillar.
It’s worth remembering that the iPhone 18 Pro is still more than a year away, and Apple prototypes multiple hardware paths before locking anything in. The company could pivot to an under-panel camera, keep a smaller center cutout, or revert to something more symmetrical. But these renders offer a rare look at the kinds of ideas Apple is at least entertaining behind the scenes.
If nothing else, the concept makes one thing clear: Apple is actively exploring how to push the front-facing hardware further into the background, even if the journey there looks unexpectedly familiar.
via ld vova
Recent comments