Forget under-display camera on the iPhone 17, Apple doesn't even know on which iPhone form factor it will put it first! After reputed display industry analyst Ross Young from DSCC fame reneged on his claim that Apple will have a phone with under-panel camera in 2025, now sources from the Korean screen business confirm that and go a little bit further.
According to Korean publication The Elec (translated) Apple will only start using under-panel Face ID camera kits on iPhones when at least two of its major display suppliers have mastered the technology. Unfortunately, neither Samsung nor LG are nowhere near to producing cameras that can be tucked under the screen with the quality and in the quantity that Apple would need.
Samsung already equips its bendy phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 with under-display cameras, but its resolution is just 4MP and the quality is nothing to write home about due to the insufficient lighting hitting the smallish sensor.
Samsung UPC camera schematics | Image credit – Samsung
It is currently working with the Canadians from OTI Lumionics to make the OLED display emission layer above the hidden under-panel camera transparent so that enough light can get to it in order for Apple's Face ID module to recognize a face, or for the selfie camera to take higher quality pictures.
The IR rays that the Face ID set emits still face the diffraction phenomenon, though, so Samsung will have to keep perfecting the transparent OLED screen technology. LG is going about it in another way, developing freeform lenses which will adjust to maximize the light gathered through the display layer above them and has filed a number of related patents.
Those efforts are still in the research phase, though, which explains why Apple is taking its time to introduce an all-screen iPhone with a Face ID camera kit hidden under the display. In fact, it is not even sure whether it wants to introduce it on its foldable iPhone first, and then bring it to the regular iPhone line.
"Apple hasn't even decided which model among the foldable product it's currently preparing and the existing bar-type iPhone to apply the under-panel Face ID to first," tip local display industry insiders, underscoring how far removed the first iPhone with under-display camera might be in reality.
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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
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