What looked like Apple’s bold leap to a punch-hole display may have been a translation slip-up, with new leaks pointing to a slimmer Dynamic Island instead.
Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends
Over the last month, reports about the iPhone 18 Pro models featuring a punch-hole camera cutout (toward the top left of the screen) have surfaced via multiple industry sources. Most recently, Front Page Tech’s YouTube video even shared renders of the purported iPhones with a punch-hole cutout at the front.
However, the Chinese tipster Instant Digital (via @LeakerApple) appears to have refuted the presence of a punch-hole camera on the iPhone 18 Pro models. Per the tipster, the claim “is complete misinformation (translated from Chinese).”
The iPhone 18 Pro is now rumoured to have a central pill cut-out as opposed to its top-left cutout that was circulated via a mistranslation error.
The flood illuminator will be positioned under the display on the top-left, while the IR sensor will be positioned next to the… pic.twitter.com/PzxQSoSP3R
— AppleLeaker (@LeakerApple) January 20, 2026
A translation error sparked the punch-hole iPhone narrative
Apparently, the misconception originated from an “English-language media outlet on Twitter,” which mistranslated the Chinese and Korean reports about the relocation of a Face ID component (the infrared flood illuminator) to the top left corner of the screen, as a hole-punch camera.
The tipster reiterates that the iPhone 18 Pro models could feature an under-display infrared flood illuminator on the top left. Other components of the Face ID module, including the dot projector and the front-facing camera, are in the center.
So, instead of featuring a punch-hole front display, the iPhone 18 Pro could retain the Dynamic Island, but it would be smaller than the one on recent models. This reminds me of the initial rumors about the Pro models that claimed a thinner and smaller Dynamic Island could be on the cards.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends
Ross Young, who has served as Counterpoint Research’s VP, corroborates Instant Digital’s claim that the purported Pro iPhones will feature a smaller yet visible Dynamic Island instead of a punch-hole screen. This surely adds some weight to the leak that seems to disapprove of the other reports and renders.
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at a launch event in September 2026. Apart from the smaller Dynamic Island, they could also feature 5G via Satellite, variable aperture for the rear cameras, and bigger batteries. Alongside the iPhone 18 Pro(s), the company could also unveil its first foldable iPhone.
For more than five years, Shikhar has consistently simplified developments in the field of consumer tech and presented them…
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