According to sources cited by the Korean website The Elec, Samsung Display is developing new under-panel camera technology that Apple plans to use to hide Face ID beneath the display on next year’s tentatively named “iPhone 15 Pro” models.
While rumors suggest that this year’s “iPhone 14 Pro” models will have both a “hole-punch” and a pill-shaped cutout for the front camera and Face ID components, a new report claims that Apple is planning for iPhone 15 Pro models to only have a hole for the front camera, with Face ID hidden beneath the display.
According to the report, Samsung’s technology would effectively make Face ID sensors appear invisible to the naked eye, similar to the hidden under-display camera on its Galaxy Z Fold3 smartphone. The pixel density over the under-display camera on the Fold3 is lower than the rest of the display to allow light to reach the camera, but this results in relatively low-quality photos.
It’s unclear whether the under-display version of Face ID would be as effective or secure as the current system in a notch, or if there would be any other tradeoffs. Samsung is said to be working on the technology with Canada’s OTI Lumionics.
According to The Elec’s Korean-language version of the report, Samsung plans to use the technology first on its so-called “Galaxy Z Fold5” next year if development is completed on time, followed by the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
This is not the first time that an iPhone with under-display Face ID has been rumored. Ming-Chi Kuo, a reputable analyst, stated in an April 2021 research note that he expected Apple to use under-display Face ID for at least one new iPhone model launching in 2023, but he did not provide any further details at the time. Ross Young, a display industry consultant, also claimed that Face ID would not be moved beneath the display until at least 2023.
