The regular – and reasonably reliable – leaker Digital Chat Station – on Chinese social media platform Weibo has let slip that the Apple iPhone 18 generation has begun test production and that the iconic 'dynamic island' feature is going to be replaced by – something else – at least for the Pro series.
There are also a series of rumors about colors going around – red, purple, and brown, hence the mock-up above – but for now I'll concentrate on the camera news.
It's also more than a little interesting that many see the punch hole as a step on the way toward a more special twentieth anniversary phone with a fully invisible front camera.
Sample production matters because it is the point at which many of the features we expect in the final product do tend to stick. What is staying the same is the size and refresh rate of the screens, 6.27-inch for the Pro, and 6.86-inch for the Pro Max, both at 120Hz.
What is being discussed – and looks different in various YouTubes and reports – is the "new under-display area". Some think that we'll see a smaller pill shape, a little like the one that exists now, that contains Apple's FaceID system and camera.
Others think that a hole punch – similar to some other phones – is likely to appear. The Samsung Galaxy S25 has a hole near the centre of the screen, for example. Other mock-ups have shown Apple's in the corner, but that feels unlikely to me.
Sample production is the point at which most of these decisions get set in stone, and of course, a lot of aesthetic decisions will be required of the operating system if there is a hole punch in a different spot to the existing pill, so that will be a factor in Apple's next steps too.
There is also discussion as to whether the feature will immediately apply to the whole range, go to the Pro phones first, or the Pro and the 'Air 2' on the grounds that it is a premium model. Apple has managed to start a lot of debate among the community, but we're not expecting to know anything for sure until Apple's traditional September announcement window.
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