iPhone 16 Pro still on track for under-display Face ID, followed by under-display selfie camera in 2026

Apple is still on track to switch to under-display Face ID technology next year that will provide more usable display space on the iPhone 16 Pro models, according to a new report out of Korea.

Apple is set to move to under-display “Face ID” on iPhone 16 Pro models in 2024, followed by under-display “Face ID” and an under-display front-facing camera on iPhone 18 Pro models in 2026, according to respected display industry consultant Ross Young.

In line with this roadmap, according to a new report from electricityGiven the current state of smartphone production operations, Apple shouldn’t have any major difficulties securing the technology needed for outside light to be able to penetrate the screen and enter the TrueDepth camera system that makes Face ID possible.

From a display point of view, Underpanel Face ID has the same principle as the Underpanel Camera (UPC) that Samsung Display has applied to Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z Fold series of foldable phones. UPC also mounts the front camera module below the screen, so the camera lens peephole is not visible when the camera function is not in use. Currently, the camera module specification has been compromised at the 4 million pixel level to implement UPC. This is because the UPC space must be divided so that some support the display function, and the other supports the camera function by accepting external light. Recently, the front camera specification of premium smartphones has exceeded 10 million pixels.

The report adds: “If the current trend continues, Apple could implement Underpanel Face ID‌ on a file [non-Pro] iPhone‌ series lineup in 2025, and apply UPC to [Pro] iPhone‌ series lineup in 2026.”

This isn’t the first time that the Korean-language website’s predictions have lined up with a roadmap that Young laid out for May 2022. Young outlined a cycle where Apple would alternate between Pro and non-Pro models each year when revised display pieces or new under-display technology were introduced.

Pro models will be the first to feature the new display innovations, as first seen last year with Dynamic Island exclusive to ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌‌ Max, while iPhone 14 and ‌iPhone 14‌ Plus are left with the same “notch” as the iPhone 13. This This year, Dynamic Island‌ is expected to come on all iPhone 15 models.

Based on this cycle, each configuration of display cutouts and under-display technology will last a maximum of two generations on each iPhone‌, before all models in Apple’s future iPhone‌ lineups will have a truly untethered full screen, which is expected to happen in 2027.