Apple made huge changes to the iPhone’s design last year. So it’s very likely they’ll stick to the same appearance next year. Today, we came across some images of a dummy iPhone 18 Pro Max. It looks like the huge camera bar design is here to stay. But there are small adjustments that are worth discussing.
On the face of it, the design is very similar to the older handset. You can’t tell them apart at a glance. One change you’ll notice right away is the smaller Dynamic Island cutouts on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Yes, there are still two holes on the screen. A single punch hole is actually expected on the 20th anniversary iPhones next year.
The Dynamic Island has shrunk by at least 25%. The iPhone 17 Pro Max had a 20mm pill, which is now reduced to about 15mm. We referenced a previous leak for the standard iPhone 18 Pro for more accurate numbers: 20.76mm vs. 13.49mm. That’s only one of the changes.
The thickness of the new iPhone model has gone up. When you include the camera plateau in the phone’s depth, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is 11.23mm. That number goes up to 11.54mm on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. It’s even more excessive if you include the lens thickness.
The older Pro Max was only 12.92mm thick (with lenses), and that number shoots up to 13.77mm on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. But, as it turns out, this could be good news. You may remember that last year, the Pro iPhones went from 5X to 4X optical zoom.
The lenses have been raised, possibly to bump the optical zoom back to 5X. Another reason could be the moving components on the main lens. We’ve been hearing rumors of a variable-aperture sensor on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. So it stands to reason why the camera bar’s thickness has gone up.
There are signs of a bigger chassis as well. iPhone 18 Pro Max is supposed to be wider and taller this time. Not to color anyone’s opinion, but there could be a bigger battery under the hood. We’ll get back to you when we have confirmation. Keep watching the news.
