Front Page Tech’s Jon Prosser has published what he describes as the definitive look at the iPhone 18 Pro ahead of Apple’s expected September announcement, reconfirming several design and hardware changes that have circulated in leaks for months.
The most immediately visible change centres on the Dynamic Island, which Prosser says will shrink by around 25% compared to the iPhone 17 Pro, continuing the incremental reduction Apple began when it replaced the notch with the pill-shaped cutout in the iPhone 14 Pro generation.
Beyond the front panel, the leak reiterates that variable aperture is coming to the primary camera on both the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max, a shift that carries more significance for photography than the resolution increases Apple has leaned on in recent cycles.
Variable aperture on a smartphone allows the lens diaphragm to physically open and close rather than relying entirely on computational processing to simulate depth of field, a distinction that typically produces more natural-looking background separation in portrait photography than software-driven alternatives.
The colour lineup for the Pro models will reportedly include a new Dark Cherry option alongside the existing Silver and Dark Grey finishes, with a light blue shade also confirmed in Prosser’s video, extending the palette beyond the more muted earth tones Apple introduced in recent years.
On the hardware side, Prosser confirms the Camera Control button will lose its capacitive touch layer in the iPhone 18 Pro, retaining only pressure-sensitive functionality, a change attributed to cost reduction rather than any deliberate feature simplification.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will carry a 5,200mAh battery according to the leak, up from 5,100mAh in the current generation, with the C2 modem Apple developed in-house arriving across both Pro models and bringing support for 5G connectivity over satellite, a step beyond the emergency-only satellite messaging the current lineup supports.
Apple has not confirmed any details about the iPhone 18 series, with an official announcement expected at its annual September event alongside the separately reported iPhone Ultra.
