iPhone 18 Pro Teardown Reveals Under‑Display Face ID Camera and a Massive Vapor‑Chamber Upgrade

When REWA Technology posted their first look at the iPhone 18 Pro on YouTube, the tech community perked up. The video isn’t just a quick glance; it actually pulls the phone apart, layer by layer, and points out a handful of changes that feel both subtle and bold.

First off, the Dynamic Island has been trimmed down a bit, giving the front‑side a cleaner feel. But the real surprise lives in the corner of the display: the infrared camera that powers Face ID is no longer perched on top of the chassis. Apple has slid it beneath the OLED panel. To make that work, the pixel layout above the sensor was tweaked so infrared light can still slip through. The camera now hangs off three tiny flex cables, keeping it a little farther from the main selfie module.

Battery talk gets a cameo, too. The unit in the teardown still carries a physical SIM slot and houses a 4,056 mAh cell – that’s roughly 1.7 % larger than the iPhone 17 Pro’s pack. In markets where Apple sells the phone without a SIM tray (U.S., Canada, Japan, etc.), the battery appears to be even bigger, hinting at a push for longer endurance. REWA also flagged a beefier battery connector, which could be a nod toward faster‑charging capabilities, alongside a multi‑layer flex cable and a shift in the battery supplier.

Cooling gets the most dramatic overhaul. The A20 Pro processor has been nudged onto the surface of the motherboard, sitting directly against a new vapor‑chamber design. Apple’s own specs claim that chamber now offers three times the surface area of the one in the iPhone 17 Pro, thanks to a fresh thermal‑pad material that spreads heat more efficiently. In plain English, the phone should stay cooler under heavy loads.

These changes, however, make some repairs trickier. The under‑display camera cut‑out means aftermarket display makers will need new tooling. Meanwhile, the NAND storage and power IC are now sandwiched between motherboard layers, requiring delicate separation to reach them. An exposed EEPROM chip on the board’s surface loses its protective shield, making it more vulnerable to physical damage. Even the charging‑port flex has been simplified from two cables down to one.

On the camera side, the main “Fusion” sensor has grown slightly larger and now supports a variable aperture mechanism, promising more flexibility in low‑light scenes. The chassis itself looks unchanged – the aluminum‑glass body keeps the same sleek silhouette, though Apple’s new colour‑matched finish introduced earlier this year makes the rear look a touch more cohesive.

All of this lands at a starting price of $1,199, with the iPhone 18 Pro and its bigger sibling, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, already shipping worldwide.