Apple Readies iPhone 18 Pro LTPO+ Displays as Dynamic Island Shrinks 35%

Q: With its new display, can the iPhone 18 Pro finally break the daily charging cycle for its users?

Probably for many users, but not reliably for everyone. The rumored iPhone 18 Pro display upgrade matters because screens are one of a phone’s biggest power draws. LTPO+ is expected to improve efficiency by giving the OLED panel finer control over current and refresh behavior, with reports pointing to power savings of up to about 20% in display operation. That should especially help in low-refresh scenarios such as Always-On Display, reading, and mixed everyday use, while also reducing flicker in dim conditions. The display is only part of the battery story. Reports also point to a 2nm A20 Pro chip with meaningfully better power efficiency, an improved C2 modem, and only modest battery-capacity gains on the iPhone 18 Pro itself. That combination suggests a noticeable real-world endurance boost even without a much larger battery. The Pro Max, which is rumored to get a bigger battery increase, has a stronger chance of pushing into true two-day territory for moderate users. But “breaking the daily charging cycle” depends on usage. Heavy camera use, gaming, 5G, navigation, and high brightness can still drain any flagship in a day. The smaller Dynamic Island should improve usable screen area, but it is not a major battery factor. So the likely answer is that the iPhone 18 Pro could let many average users skip nightly charging more often, while the Pro Max is the better bet to do so consistently. For heavy users, daily charging will probably remain common.

Q: By cutting out a key supplier, has Apple made the iPhone 18 Pro's best new feature too expensive for consumers?

Probably not. The evidence suggests Apple’s decision to exclude BOE from the iPhone 18 Pro display supply chain may raise Apple’s costs somewhat, but it is not the main reason the phone could become too expensive for buyers. The best new feature appears to be the LTPO+ display system, which should improve battery efficiency, reduce low-light flicker and help shrink the Dynamic Island by moving more Face ID hardware under the screen. Those are meaningful upgrades, and Apple is reportedly relying on Samsung Display and LG Display because BOE had quality and yield problems with advanced OLED production. That reduces Apple’s supplier diversity and likely weakens its pricing leverage. But the available reporting does not show that this supplier change alone makes the feature prohibitively expensive. In fact, some reports say falling display panel prices could slightly offset broader manufacturing cost increases. The bigger pressure on iPhone 18 Pro pricing appears to come from other parts: more expensive NAND and DRAM, a 2nm-class chip, and new camera hardware. So the supply-chain shift matters, but mainly as a risk-management choice: Apple is paying for execution certainty on a difficult display upgrade. Consumers may still face a higher iPhone 18 Pro price, yet the evidence points to memory, processor and camera costs—not the loss of BOE—as the primary drivers.

3 articles · Updated · 9to5Mac · Jul 21

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are rumored to keep current screen sizes but add LTPO+ panels and a Dynamic Island cutout about 35% smaller than the iPhone 17 Pro’s.
LTPO+ extends oxide materials to driving TFTs as well as switching TFTs, enabling finer OLED current control that should improve battery efficiency and reduce low-light screen flicker.
The smaller cutout would slightly expand usable display area and mark the first physical Dynamic Island size reduction since Apple introduced the feature on the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022.
The changes would push Apple’s Pro models closer to a cutout-free display while preserving existing ProMotion and Always-On capabilities built on LTPO technology.