Even though it's typically notoriously difficult to make accurate long-term predictions about unreleased iPhones and Apple products in general, Ming-Chi Kuo might just be the guy to pull something like that off if anyone can do it.
The veteran tech industry analyst and recent Twitter joiner has proven his virtually unrivaled insight into Apple's vision, plans, and aspirations many times over the years, repeatedly beating all other reliable (and semi-reliable) tipsters, leakers, and insiders to the punch in correctly anticipating launch schedules, design revisions, and new features well ahead of their time.
That may (or may not) prove to be the case for the latest prophecy/educated guess looking into the somewhat distant future with a very encouraging perspective for "iFans" disappointed to hear about their favorite company's short-term intentions to switch from a divisive notch to an even more controversial hole punch setup.
Under-display Face ID AND under-display front camera on the same device?!
While 2024 is not exactly right around the corner, we can totally understand if Kuo's prediction for Apple's "high-end iPhones" from just two years in the future leaves you feeling a little bit skeptical. Two iPhone generations doesn't seem like enough time to develop, implement, and perfect TWO groundbreaking technologies, each of which comes with its own unique set of challenges, limitations, and issues the company will need to solve before they can be deployed to the masses.
Apple is not one to release half-baked features, functionalities, and products commercially, often working years and years behind the scenes to make sure everything will run smoothly out in the real world, with no "innovation" or design tweak negatively impacting the user experience in any meaningful way.
Full screen iPhone concept with under-display Face ID.
That's all to say that if the iPhone 16 Pro does manage to achieve a "real full-screen" design with no notch, hole punch, or other visible display cutouts, we can reasonably expect the performance of the "invisible" selfie shooter and accuracy of the under-display facial recognition system to be essentially unrivaled in the mobile industry of 2024.
Of course, these are all assumptions largely based on guesswork and presumably speculation gathered by Ming-Chi Kuo from Apple's supply chain, which might be hard at work already on improving the overall quality of front camera components likely to be used on iPhones from 2024 onward.
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One thing we're curious to see is whether or not the "full-screen" iPhone 16 Pro design will then be adopted by non-Pro iPhone 17 models, although it's probably not a good idea to get ahead of ourselves here.
What about the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro?
Unfortunately, reading between the lines of Kuo's latest tweet suggests next year's iPhone 15 family might not be very... revolutionary from the perspective of its general appearance.
If both the under-display front-facing camera and screen-embedded Face ID sensors are scheduled for a 2024 commercial rollout, that can only mean one of two things for Apple's 2023 handsets. Specifically, the entire iPhone 15 roster could opt for a currently unusual combination of a pill-shaped screen cutout and pinhole camera or the universally despised notch will live to see another day on the family's "regular" members.
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max could greatly resemble the 14 Pro and Pro Max (envisioned here).
The former theory clearly makes a little more sense than the latter, especially after a recent report pointed precisely in that direction. Meanwhile, it's important to highlight that none of these short, mid, and long-term projections about under-display Face ID adoption contains any promising info regarding under-display Touch ID technology.
That almost certainly means the traditional fingerprint scanner will not be making a comeback in a modernized form on an iPhone anytime soon, and depending on just how reliable and accurate the under-display facial authentication system will prove, Touch ID may well never see daylight again.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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