The features of the iPhone 18 are starting to emerge, at least in the form of rumors. We are talking about design, functions and technologies that will differentiate the 2026 edition phone compared to those that were launched just a couple of months ago.
As usual and as expected, China is the main source of these rumors with the usual Chinese Weibo account Digital Chat Stationwhich has over three million followers and which in the past has had some of them right, to make predictions.
The latest one concerns a smaller Dynamic Island which would be reduced thanks to a camera hole obtained using the HIAA (Hole-In-Active-Area). It’s one technology developed by Samsung Display and from other OLED panel manufacturers, designed for integrate the camera directly within the active area of the screen without reducing the visual space.
The HIAA system, which we have already talked about, uses High precision laser micro-drilling to create a tiny opening between active pixels, eliminating the need for non-operational zones.
Oltre la Dynamic Island
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Already in May, Digital Chat Station had spoken about this technology, stating that Apple was testing it together with a Face ID system under the display. Those statements followed a report from The Information, which said Apple plans to move the front camera hole to the top left corner of the displayabandoning its current position in the center of Dynamic Island.
The new update, however, appears more uncertain. According to the leaker, the use of HIAA technology will change the shape of the screen due to the more compact hole design.
It’s unclear whether this means the camera will be moved or will remain integrated into a reduced Dynamic Island. Furthermore, there is no mention of Face ID under the display, a sign that Apple may have postponed this part of the project.
We remind you that as regards the disappearance of the second hole, that of the Face ID sensors, Apple is reportedly experimenting with a system that allows you to selectively remove subpixels (the red, cyan and green elements that form the pixel and whose light mixed to varying degrees generates the color of the pixel) present in the FaceID sensor area. In this way, also as a consequence of the elimination of the corresponding circuits, infrared light would pass through freely.
Anyone looking at the screen would notice practically nothing because Apple would eliminate the subpixels with a specific logic: only the one adjacent to a subpixel of the same color would leave room for light. In practice the image would remain unchanged, also considering that Dynamic Island persists and will persist in that area.
This goal, however, remains distant and it is difficult to imagine that the Face ID sensor could disappear with the iPhone 18. For this reason, moving the camera leaving the second hole where it is now would make little technical and aesthetic sense. If Digital Chat Station is right, we can think that the camera built around HIAA technology will simply result in a reduced Dynamic Island and not its elimination.
Only with the 10th anniversary iPhone the “all glass with curved edges” could the interruption of the screen perhaps disappear
The other news coming to iPhone 18 Pro
As we said at the beginning, the camera is just one of the new features that we can expect for iPhone 18. There is also a new one coming for the Pro version rear camera with variable aperture to better adapt to different light conditions, one (not well specified in meaning) “transparent” MagSafe zone with a nuovo Ceramic Shield designed to improve wireless charging and, on iPhone 18 Pro Maxa steel shell battery which could actually refer to a vapor chamber cooling system in stainless steel.
Design and finishes
On an aesthetic level, the iPhone 18 Pro should maintain the posterior plateau introduced with the 17 Pro generation, confirming the same relief setting for the camera block. Apple is also reportedly evaluating three new colors: Burgundy, coffee e violaall with warmer and more sophisticated shades than current finishes.
It remains to be clarified meaning in terms of the design of the transparent MagSafe as we say above: it could indicate a visually distinct area to highlight the magnetic attachment point or optimize energy transfer.
When it arrives
The line iPhone 18 Pro e iPhone 18 Pro Max it’s waiting in September 2026together with the new iPhone Air et al first foldable iPhone.
The versions iPhone 18 e iPhone 18e they should arrive instead in spring 2027as part of a new launch strategy with staggered cycles which will distribute updates on two distinct moments of the year.
