Apple first introduced the Dynamic Island with the iPhone 14 Pro. Since then, the design has gradually made its way across the company’s new iPhone lineup.

Compared with the notch on iPhones without the Dynamic Island, such as the iPhone 14, the cutout is clearly more compact. In everyday use, however, the current Dynamic Island remains large enough to affect the viewing experience. And Apple could make it smaller still.

Recent leaks suggest that is exactly what Apple plans to do. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to feature a considerably smaller Dynamic Island. More specifically, Apple is reportedly reducing the width of the cutout from about 20.7mm to just 13.5mm.

A privacy screen protector said to be designed for the iPhone 18 Pro has also recently appeared online. Notably, its Dynamic Island cutout looks smaller than the one found on the current generation, adding weight to earlier rumors that Apple is indeed preparing to shrink the display cutout on the iPhone 18 Pro.

Why does a smaller Dynamic Island matter?

Shrinking the Dynamic Island does not necessarily mean Apple will remove any of the features the interface currently provides. More likely, the change would be made possible by reducing the size of the hardware components underneath.

Even so, users could see several clear benefits.

The first is more usable display space. A smaller cutout means less of the screen is obscured, which could be particularly noticeable when watching videos, playing games or using apps that make full use of the display.

A smaller Dynamic Island could also give the iPhone a cleaner appearance. On current models, the black area at the top center of the display can sometimes feel like a relatively large patch sitting over the content. Shrinking it would make the Dynamic Island less conspicuous and could give the screen a more seamless look.

The biggest benefit, however, may lie further ahead: a smaller Dynamic Island could be the first step toward an iPhone display with no cutout at all.

iPhone 18 Pro could pave the way for an all-screen iPhone

If Apple does shrink the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 18 Pro, the move may represent only one stage in a longer-term plan.

After reducing the size of the Dynamic Island, Apple could move toward a punch-hole selfie camera on future iPhone generations. Renderings said to depict the 20th-anniversary iPhone have previously surfaced, showing a device that could feature an almost bezel-free display with a punch-hole front camera.

Over the longer term, Apple’s ambitions could go even further. The company is expected to seek ways to move all front-facing sensors beneath the display. If it can overcome challenges involving camera quality and the performance of under-display sensors, Apple could eventually produce a truly all-screen iPhone.

A smaller Dynamic Island, therefore, may be more than a simple design change. It could signal that Apple is gradually addressing one of the biggest challenges in modern smartphone design: eliminating display cutouts altogether without compromising the camera or sensor system.

A change iPhone users actually want

The desire for a smaller Dynamic Island does not appear to be limited to a small group of users. Many Apple fans on Reddit have also expressed dissatisfaction with the current size of the cutout.

One user said they liked the features offered by the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 17 but were unhappy with the size of the cutout. Another user, apparently an iPhone 16 Pro Max owner, even suggested that changing the size of the Dynamic Island could become one of the most worthwhile iPhone upgrades this year.

This suggests Apple does not necessarily need a dramatic change to improve the user experience. Sometimes, simply reducing the size of a familiar component can be enough to make a phone more appealing.

Alongside the smaller Dynamic Island, the iPhone 18 Pro is also rumored to receive several other notable upgrades, including an all-new A20 Pro chip, improved battery life, an LTPO+ display and a range of hardware changes.

Combined with a more compact Dynamic Island, these upgrades could make the iPhone 18 Pro one of Apple’s most notable iPhones this year.

Hai Phong