Update: The latest rumors suggest Apple will be teaming up with Samsung to hide Face ID sensors under the display — but not until the iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 14 is a hot topic right now, even though the iPhone 13 is still not quite with us. After a big recent leak, other experts are weighing in on the claims.
Ross Young, mobile display expert and CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, made a recent comment on Twitter that backs up claims that one of the iPhone 14's biggest changes will be under-display Face ID. However he also says it may not be for every model, and it isn't quite certain yet whether the feature will be ready at all.
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The original claim of under-display Face ID comes from a massive leak by Jon Prosser of Front Page Tech for next year's iPhone. There are other interesting details such as a new flat back and titanium side rails featuring redesigned buttons, but the almost complete removal of the notch is the most obvious rumored change.
The problem is though that this radical shift isn't apparently locked in yet. As Young says in his tweet: "I would say under panel Face ID isn't final yet. Still being worked on."
I would say under panel Face ID isn't final yet. Still being worked on. It is easier than under panel cameras though.September 8, 2021
Happily Young says in a follow-up tweet that making Face ID work from under the screen is easier than making under-display cameras work. Since Face ID just needs to recognize your face, the quality loss from the screen being in the way shouldn't matter.
The IR sensors aren’t affected nearly as much by the yellow polyimide substrate found in flexible OLED displays as the cameras are. The panel isn’t transparent. The IR sensors just have to work, unlike in cameras where the image quality is super important…September 9, 2021
Additionally, Young's current table of iPhone 14 features, based on DSCC's analysis, states that only the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models will feature this technology. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will not get the benefit of this, and will instead feature regular Face ID or a reintroduced Touch ID fingerprint scanner.
Regarding iPhone 14 leaks, great to see. We showed under panel Face ID in the 2022 Pro models in June...Also showed the 2023 lineup as well. pic.twitter.com/dGcm5n0bEOSeptember 8, 2021
The iPhone 14 is over a year away however, so despite the confidence of some of these claims, it's possible that Apple will change things around before the final 2022 iPhone is locked in.
In the meantime, we've got the iPhone 13 launch coming up, likely at the Apple event September 14. This iPhone lineup is also said to have an altered Face ID notch, with the top speaker moved to allow a smaller overall cutout in the display, giving you some extra room to watch video and play games on the same sized phone.
