iPhone 18 Pro Leak: iPhone 18 Pro Leak Reveals Under-Screen Face ID, Camera Changes, and A20 Pro Chip
Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, expected to launch in September 2026, are set to introduce several major design and hardware upgrades, according to a new report from The Information by Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu.
Under-Screen Face ID and New Front Camera Placement
The report claims that Apple will finally implement under-screen Face ID on the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. With Face ID components hidden beneath the display, the familiar pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout will be removed.
Instead, the front-facing camera will be repositioned to the top-left corner of the display, resulting in a cleaner screen design. Despite this change, the overall appearance of the devices is expected to remain similar to the iPhone 17 Pro models.
Variable Aperture Camera Coming to iPhone 18 Pro
Apple is also reportedly planning to introduce a mechanical iris to at least one rear camera on the iPhone 18 Pro models. This upgrade would enable variable aperture, allowing users to manually control how much light enters the camera lens.
Well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously stated that the 48MP main camera on iPhone 18 Pro models would support variable aperture. Currently, iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 17 Pro models use a fixed ƒ/1.78 aperture, meaning the lens always shoots fully open.
With variable aperture, users would gain greater control over depth of field, enhancing photography flexibility. However, due to the iPhone’s relatively small image sensors, it remains unclear how significant the real-world improvement will be.
A20 Pro Chip With Advanced 2nm Technology
The iPhone 18 Pro models are widely expected to be powered by Apple’s A20 Pro chip, manufactured using TSMC’s cutting-edge 2nm process. The report also notes that Apple plans to adopt Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) packaging.
This new chip design integrates RAM directly onto the same wafer as the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, rather than placing memory beside the chip. This approach could deliver several benefits, including:
- Faster overall performance
- Improved Apple Intelligence processing
- Better power efficiency and longer battery life
- Enhanced thermal management
- Reduced chip size, freeing internal space for other components
Expected Launch Timeline
Apple is expected to officially unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in September 2026, continuing its traditional fall release schedule.
