The iPhone 18 Pro is shaping up as Apple’s boldest flagship shift in years, with leaks pointing to a cleaner front, dramatic new colours and Face ID tucked beneath the glass. If the current reporting holds, the 2026 Pro generation will look familiar from the back but feel radically different from the moment the screen lights up. I see a clear pattern emerging: Apple is using this cycle to push design, display and camera hardware forward while quietly laying groundwork for more powerful on‑device intelligence.
Redesigned front: from Dynamic Island to hidden Face ID
The most striking change is expected on the front, where multiple leaks suggest Apple is finally ready to hide Face ID under the display and shrink the camera cutout. Detailed roundups of the iPhone 18 family describe special glass that could allow the sensors to sit beneath the screen so the Pro and Pro Max show a near uninterrupted panel with no traditional Dynamic Island in sight, a shift that would mark one of the biggest visual changes since the notch first appeared on the X generation, according to Design. Separate reporting focused specifically on the Pro models reinforces that the front will be the main visual differentiator, with the back remaining close to the iPhone 17 Pro layout while the display moves toward a true full‑screen look supported by under‑panel Face ID, as outlined in fresh Front leaks.
Exactly how Apple will handle the selfie camera and Dynamic Island, however, is still contested. Some render videos and social posts argue that the company will replace the current pill‑shaped cutout with a small punch hole in the top left corner, effectively eliminating the existing Dynamic Island behaviour and forcing a rethink of how alerts and Live Activities appear, a scenario described in detail in Earlier coverage and echoed in a separate breakdown of the top‑left camera move and its impact on the Dynamic Island. Others suggest Apple may keep some form of Dynamic Island by relocating it rather than killing it, with one analysis noting that, However the final layout lands, the company is clearly experimenting with new positions for the cutout and under‑screen hardware, as seen in a focused look at the evolving However rumours.
What is consistent across the leaks is the idea of Face ID itself disappearing from view. Several reports and social posts describe September’s iPhone 18 Pro as the first Apple handset to hide Face ID under the screen, promising a true full‑screen design that still supports secure biometric unlock, a move highlighted in one viral breakdown of under‑panel Face ID. Another widely shared clip summarises the 2026 Pro as “The Future, Coming 2026” and frames the hidden sensors as a headline feature of Apple’s next flagship, reinforcing that the company sees this redesign as a generational leap rather than a minor tweak, as framed in a fan post dubbing the device The Future.
New colours: Burgundy, Brown, Purple and bolder “Pro” styling
While the front moves toward invisibility, the colour palette is heading in the opposite direction, with leaks pointing to some of the boldest Pro finishes yet. A series of renders and social posts converge on three headline shades for iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, with Burgundy, Brown and Purple repeatedly mentioned as the core trio and Burgundy often given star billing in marketing‑style imagery, a pattern spelled out in detailed Leaked descriptions. Another breakdown of the same renders emphasises that the physical design stays close to the 17 Pro from the back, but the new colours, with Burgundy highlighted, are meant to signal that this is a fresh generation even if the camera block looks familiar, as reiterated in the Face ID section.
Behind those renders sit more granular colour rumours from the supply chain and Chinese social media. One widely cited Weibo post, translated and analysed in depth, claims Apple is testing Coffee, Purple and Wine Red for the Pro lineup, with Coffee Brown, Purple and Burgundy emerging as likely marketing names, a combination that would be unlike any previous Pro palette and is summarised in a focused Rumor. Another report attributes the Burgundy, Brown and Purple shortlist directly to Apple’s internal deliberations, citing Instant Digital on the Chinese platform Weibo as the source of the claim that these are the colour options under serious consideration, as laid out in a note on Instant Digital. A separate colour‑focused leak compares the upcoming Pro hues to the iPhone 17 Pro’s Silver, Cosmic Orange and Deep Blue, arguing that the shift to deeper, coffee‑inspired tones will make the 18 Pro stand out even more on store shelves, a contrast drawn explicitly in a hands‑on look at the current Pro colours.
Early fan reactions suggest that colour will be a major part of the buying decision. One Instagram reel that claims the phone “just leaked completely” focuses almost entirely on the finishes, stating that, First of all, the device will look much like the seventeen Pro but arrive in three new colours, with a “super premium” Burgundy and two complementary shades that match the broader rumour mill, as hyped in the short clip titled First of. Another social post revisits Every Pro and Regular iPhone colour from 2018 to 2025 and asks Which lineup had the most appealing palette, explicitly framing the 2026 iPhone 18 Pro as the next step in that evolution and priming buyers to judge Coffee, Purple and Burgundy against past favourites like Midnight Green and Sierra Blue, a comparison drawn in a fan discussion of Every colour cycle.
Specs, cameras and on‑device intelligence
Beneath the new paint, the iPhone 18 Pro is expected to deliver a familiar but more muscular spec sheet. Comprehensive previews of the 2026 lineup describe the Pro as the performance flagship, with a new A‑series chip and a continued focus on battery life and camera quality, positioning it as the natural upgrade path for iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro owners, a framing that runs through an early look at Everything. A more technical breakdown lists an A20 pro chip, 12GB RAM and a bigger push for on‑device AI as headline features for the Pro and Pro Max, suggesting Apple will lean heavily on local processing for tasks like photo enhancement, Siri requests and possibly generative features that do not need the cloud, according to a table of RAM upgrades.
Camera hardware is also tipped for a meaningful bump, particularly on the front. One in‑depth video on the Pro Max suggests Significant camera upgrades including a 24MP front camera and a potential variable aperture system for Pro models, a combination that would improve low‑light selfies and give Apple more flexibility for portrait effects and video calls, as detailed in the Significant leak. At the display level, Apple is reportedly testing LTPO OLED panels with 120Hz refresh rates across the entire iPhone 18 family, which would extend ProMotion‑style smoothness to non‑Pro models while keeping the Pro as the showcase for the best calibration and brightness, a move described in a technical note on Apple’s LTPO OLED testing.
Renders, rollout timing and Apple’s shifting schedule
How big a leap is iPhone 18 Pro for upgraders?
For now, all of this remains unconfirmed, and Apple’s history shows that even late‑stage leaks can miss final colour names or camera details. Still, when I line up the major reports, a coherent picture emerges: a 2026 flagship that keeps the Pro identity intact while hiding more of its technology from view, from under‑screen Face ID to LTPO OLED panels, and dresses it in deeper, more expressive colours. Between the New iPhone 18 Pro leaks that frame these changes as Major steps forward, the recurring references to hidden Face ID and the steady drumbeat of renders and schedule rumours, the message is clear enough for anyone planning an upgrade, as reflected in a widely shared summary that ties together the New Pro and Pro and Max leaks, the Major redesign and the under‑display Face ID Apple is said to be targeting for its next flagship According.
