Weibo Leaker Floats Shorter iPhone With Same Width and Rearranged iOS
A Weibo leaker known as Instant Digital has floated a shorter, non-folding iPhone that keeps its width but trims roughly a status bar's worth of height. The idea moves some controls into the status bar. The leaker calls the layout and proportions personal speculation.
A Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital" has described a shorter iPhone that keeps today's width, with iOS rearranged so the screen still shows the same amount of information. The leaker envisions the change as a personal theory, not an Apple plan.
The idea depends on the display losing its large camera area. Instant Digital imagines Apple shortening a non-folding iPhone once the screen has only a single camera cutout, or once the front-facing camera sits entirely beneath the display.
What the leaker proposes
Removing roughly a status bar's worth of height would take the aspect ratio from around 19.5:9 to closer to 18:9. That would apparently make the phone easier to hold and use with one hand.
Controls that now sit below the status bar could share a row with the time and system indicators. Merging the two rows would let a shorter screen hold the same content. The leaker described the layout and proportions as personal speculation.
Apple's recent iOS changes
Apple has already changed how iOS uses the top of the screen. The iPhone 18 Pro has a smaller Dynamic Island that supports up to three simultaneous Live Activities, up from two on earlier models.
On the iPhone Duo, iOS fits a compact status bar into the corner. It positions the Dynamic Island vertically along the side of the outer display.
Camera cutout timing is unclear
When a cutout-free iPhone might arrive is uncertain. The leaker "Digital Chat Station" has said Apple is testing under-display camera technology. The same leaker described an intermediate design with a visible hole for the front-facing camera, similar to the iPhone Duo.
Another Weibo user said they expect iPhones to keep a camera cutout and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio in both 2027 and 2028. Instant Digital replied that some sources say the cutout could disappear in 2028. Display analyst Ross Young has separately said he expects the 2028 iPhone Pro models to keep a centered camera cutout.
A bigger iOS shift in 2027?
In a separate post, Instant Digital said they had a growing hunch that iOS would change substantially after the 20th-anniversary iPhone launches in 2027. They expect changes to how users interact with the software, as well as how it looks.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that the anniversary iPhone will have curved glass and thinner bezels. It would be the biggest overhaul to the Pro line since the iPhone X. Digital Chat Station has also said Apple was testing a roughly 7-inch display for the largest anniversary model, with the same aspect ratio as the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
There is precedent for hardware reshaping software. When Apple removed the Home button in 2017, iOS 11 introduced swipe-up navigation on the iPhone X.
