Apple Rumored to Move to In-Display Face ID for iPhone 14

A new rumor suggests that Apple is finally getting ready to ditch the bezel in its flagship smartphones. The rumor specifically applies to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, both of which will reportedly come with a screen with a hole-punch display rather than the bezel that the tech giant has used in the past.

The hole-punch display would allow Apple to deliver an iPhone with a true full-screen display. What’s more impressive, though, is that Apple will reportedly do that without affecting the performance of its Face ID 3D facial recognition setup. Most of the hardware in the Face ID camera system has traditionally been stored in the bezel. However, the new rumor indicates that Apple is planning to move some of its facial recognition sensors under the display to preserve its utility while maximizing display space.

It’s not yet clear what the actual layout would look like in such a system. Apple’s 3D facial recognition system currently consists of an infrared camera, a flood illuminator, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, and a dot projector in addition to the camera itself. Having said that, the rumor claimed that Apple’s hole-punch display would be pill-shaped instead of circular, which might create more space for those extra components.

Hole-punch displays are fairly common on Android phones, though they tend to feature a circular cut-out rather than a pill-shaped design. One notable exception is the Huawei Mate 40 Pro, which is one of the few Android phones that also offers 3D facial recognition capabilities.

Apple’s screens will reportedly have a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and will come courtesy of Samsung and LG. While the premium iPhones are getting a screen upgrade, the standard iPhone 14 will still feature a bezel rather than a hole-punch display.

Of course, Apple prognosticators have been predicting that Apple would phase out the bezel for the past several years, so it’s too early to tell whether or not the latest batch of rumors is accurate. Apple did receive a patent for a new Face ID assembly framework in May of 2021.

Sources: Mobile Syrup, BGR

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(Originally posted on Mobile ID World)