Previous claims of an under-display Face ID and camera for the iPhone 18 Pro have been scaled back, suggesting now that the 2026 flagship iPhone may only have a smaller display hole.
Regular and reasonably — if sporadically — accurate leaker Digital Chat Station has once more claimed to have reports about the display on the iPhone 18 Pro. Previously he or she has maintained that the current Dynamic Island will go, and be replaced by an under-display camera and Face ID system.
Now, writing on the Chinese social media site Weibo, Digital Chat Station says that Apple is considering a smaller hole-in-active-area (HIAA). This is a precision-drilled hole in the display, used to give the camera an unobstructed field of view.
The leaker refers to previous claims that "the screen shape will change." But it's not clear whether he or she is confirming that, or not.
Digital Chat Station is often less than precise, and machine translation of the reports doesn't help. But this one does seem to be more vague than usual, and to also summarize previous leaks.
Those include references to Digital Chat Station's claim about the iPhone 18 Pro featuring a variable aperture camera. Then, too, there is a repeat of the rumor about it having a slightly transparent back glass panel.
This time that back panel reference comes alongside an odd claim that the iPhone 18 Pro will feature a battery wrapped in stainless steel "for the first time." It wouldn't be the first time, so together with the back panel reference, it's possible this concerns a vapor chamber.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max has a vapor chamber cooling system made from stainless steel. Possibly the leaker is claiming that its heat dissipation will be improved by the new back.
This is all starting to read too much into what is chiefly a TV clip-show end of season episode. But it does feature that claim of the smaller hole punch camera, and Digital Chat Station has been correct before.
