Apple apparently in no rush to part with pill+hole design of iPhone 14 Pro
Image Credits: Cult of Mac
Yesterday, there was a rumor floating around that next year's higher-end iPhone models, which will presumably be known as the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, will flaunt an under-display camera, but an insider who is rarely wrong has rebutted this claim.
2017's iPhone X became Apple's first phone to come with a notch and there are signs that the company is finally ready to replace it with something less intrusive. Per rumors, this year's iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will have pill and hole cutouts instead of notches for housing the front camera and Face ID sensors.
The Elec said yesterday that 2023's iPhone 15 Pro will have a single hole cutout, likely for the selfie camera, and the Face ID sensors will be placed beneath the screen. According to that article, the tech will be an improved version of the camera that debuted on the foldable Galaxy Z Fold 3.
How the tech works is that the portion of the display on top of the sensors is low resolution and sometimes features a different, more transparent material. The goal is to get rid of things like notches and pinholes that break up a seamless screen.
iPhone 16 could be the first to feature under-display sensors
Judging by the few phones with under panel cameras that have been released so far, the tech has a long way to go. The camera sensor is still visible if you look closely and such cameras have nothing on conventional selfie snappers.
This could be one reason why Apple is in no rush to adopt the tech. DSCC's Ross Young had earlier said that the entire iPhone 15 lineup would feature the pill + hole design and is still standing by that.
He adds that we can expect to see an iPhone with an under-display sensor in 2024 at the earliest, meaning the iPhone 16 could be the first iPhone with under-display Face ID. The development may have already started, which explains the origin of the previous rumor.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had earlier said that Apple's long-term goal was to implement the Face ID tech in the display, so while there is no question about the company's plan to embrace this feature, it could be a little while before we actually get to see it.
In addition to a new front look, this year's Pro models are expected to flaunt the rumored A16 Bionic and a new main camera, and these could help them make it to the best phones of 2022 list.
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