Apple introduced the Dynamic Island concept in response to criticism of the notch it introduced with the iPhone X. However, the company is now reportedly working on under-display Face ID for the iPhone 16 Pro, which would allow for a truly all-screen display. This technology is being actively developed by manufacturers and could make the display elements less problematic in the future.
According to a report from The Elec, under-display Face ID faces similar challenges to Samsung Display’s underpanel camera for the Galaxy Z Fold Series display. The camera lens hole is hidden by a front camera module positioned beneath the display when in use.
While there may be some difficulty in manufacturing the display, the necessary technology for under-display Face ID already exists, and the camera module requirements can manage 4 million pixels, although this is still far from the current 12-megapixel resolution of the TrueDepth camera array.
It is thought that under-screen Face ID could be a feature of iPhone 16 Pro models in 2024, followed by iPhone 18 Pro models featuring under-screen Face ID and an under-screen front camera in 2026.
Indeed, TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously stated that under-display Face ID may not arrive until 2024 with the iPhone 16 lineup. The analyst has also mentioned that the time schedule for this is less of a technical issue and more of a marketing purpose.
