2020 iPhone could kill the notch by moving Face ID to the bezel

AppleInsider

The 2020 iPhone could eliminate the famous notch from the design altogether, an image of an alleged prototype suggests, with the TrueDepth camera sensor squeezed into the top bezel to enable the screen to take up the entire front of the mobile device.

@BenGeskin" height="368" />
Source: @BenGeskin

The introduction of the "notch" in the iPhone X in 2017 was a major design change for the iPhone, one that triggered a wave of copycat designs from Android smartphone producers. However, according to one image, Apple may be doing away with the design choice entirely, by finding a way to offer the same functionality without cutting into the display.

An image shared by Ben Geskin on Twitter shows what appears to be an iPhone with the current full-screen design, but without the notch. Geskin claims "One of the 2020 iPhone prototypes has 6.7-inch display with Face ID and TrueDepth camera system housed in the top bezel."

Exclusive: One of the 2020 iPhone prototypes has 6.7-inch display with Face ID and TrueDepth camera system housed in the top bezel. pic.twitter.com/sAJE7J12ty

-- Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin)

September 26, 2019

A second part of the same image includes a closer look at the top part of the bezel, revealing the addition of various components usually placed within the notch area. The components include an infrared camera, flood illuminator, dot projector, a proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, speaker, microphone, and a normal camera.

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Close-up of the TrueDepth camera array in the bezel (Source: @BenGeskin)

While shifting the notch contents to the bezel can help eliminate the notch, the concept could force Apple to employ a slightly thicker bezel on all sides. The notch removal may be welcomed by users, but some may not necessarily take to using a thicker bezel, despite having a clear and unfettered display that fills the iPhone's front face.

Geskin is not the only one to suggest a notch change, with a July note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claiming the 2020 iPhone could significantly decrease its size or remove it entirely.

autigermark

Looks good at the top, but why does it have to mean thicker bezel's over the entire circumference of the phone?

coolfactor

But but but.... then what will people have to complain about??? Wait, no curved edges on the screens. Yah, that will be it! And no mind-reading capability! And still powered by a battery... what's up with that? Why can't Apple just remove the battery entirely already!?! 

willcropoint

AutigerMark said:

Looks good at the top, but why does it have to mean thicker bezel's over the entire circumference of the phone?

A chase for uniformity I guess. I can understand that as well. 

coolfactor

AutigerMark said:

Looks good at the top, but why does it have to mean thicker bezel's over the entire circumference of the phone?

This whole desire for "no bezels" is baffling. They serve a purpose! Small bezels are not a bad thing.

ben20

About time. Bezels are very ugly.

grblade

This would be awesome. I’ve been holding on to my iPhone 7 Plus, and this is one of the reasons.

cloudtalkin

That mock up looks more like what I think Apple would have debuted with the X if the tech was available.  The notch had to have been a design compromise caused by component constraint imo.  Have any of the component suppliers for the FaceID module announced any advances in miniaturization that could lend credence to this rumor?  

The symmetrical bezel on the mock up is minimal and infinitely more desirable than the notch imo.

edited September 2019

cornchip

I’m sure that’s Apple's dream. would be a little surprised if it goes down by next year, but with the case update rumor it kinda makes sense. 

edited September 2019

kuyangkoh

My new ipad pro is already like that and looks so very good....so come on 

jbdragon

Kuyangkoh said:

My new ipad pro is already like that and looks so very good....so come on 

The iPad has larger bezels so you can grab onto it as you can't grab it like with a smaller phone. Personally, the Notch doesn't bother me.

fred1

I love how the notch was (in part) to make it obvious to others that the phone you had was an iPhone, then everyone copied it, so if the next model is notch-less, that will be what shows that it’s an iPhone. Cue the copycats. Suddenly they’ll be able to produce a phone with no notch too. 

lkrupp

Elsewhere this Ben Geskin is described as a “leaker and concept artist”. So I suspect these prototypes came from his imagination rather than reality. 

edited September 2019

tome

Perhaps no mechanical switches for volume, etc.

80s_apple_guy

This will just make it much harder to know the top from the bottom. Something should  distinguish IMO 

apple ][

I guess this means that other monkey see - monkey do companies will now have to follow suit and get rid of their notches too, if they are able to.

It's pretty hilarious that every time that Apple does something (implements notch, gets rid of headphone jack etc.),  then there is a huge outcry by the outrage crowd over Apple's "controversial" choices. You have other competitors mocking Apple. You have inbred haters and the mentally disabled whining all over the internet.

And then, not too long afterwards, many of the other companies and the rest of the industry begin to follow suit and many of their own products now feature a notch and no headphone jack on some models.

The worst offender has got to be Samsung, with their idiotic commercials, poking fun at Apple for not having a headphone jack, and then what does Samsung do?

They release their top model without a fucking headphone jack, and they delete and remove all prior evidence of the commercials showing that they're a bunch of hypocritical asshats, not to be believed or to be taken seriously in anything that they do, say or claim. They have no shame at all.

edited September 2019

cloudtalkin

fred1 said:

I love how the notch was (in part) to make it obvious to others that the phone you had was an iPhone, then everyone copied it, so if the next model is notch-less, that will be what shows that it’s an iPhone. Cue the copycats. Suddenly they’ll be able to produce a phone with no notch too. 

Notches quickly lost favor in the Android world.  Motorized/mechanical slide cameras allowed for thin bezel phones to exist.  Phones from OnePlus, Asus, Oppo, and others all have the bezeless (thin bezel) design.  Oppo already has a working prototype of an under screen selfie camera so the days of the notch were numbered at introduction.  I personally believe it was only ever a stop gap for Apple caused by component limitations.  

avon b7

With the release of the iPhone X I suggested this same solution but with existing technology. It meant taking the notch elements out of the screen and placing them in a tiny hump (like the Pismo curves) at the top of the phone. If the elements can be miniaturised to eliminate the hump, it's another way to succeed in getting them out of the screen.

I've always loved the Pismo curves, though (but hated the clamshell shape).

japhey

80s_Apple_Guy said:

This will just make it much harder to know the top from the bottom. Something should  distinguish IMO 

Good point. Also, with all those components so close to the edge, I would be very nervous that even a slight drop would render the whole phone useless. AppleCare would be more necessary than ever.  Maybe that’s another reason they might bring back TouchID, as a backup way to unlock. Not to mention, most case designs would have to change as well. 

jordon schultz

grblade said:

This would be awesome. I’ve been holding on to my iPhone 7 Plus, and this is one of the reasons.

Is this a serious comment? 

jordon schultz

Japhey said:

80s_Apple_Guy said:

This will just make it much harder to know the top from the bottom. Something should  distinguish IMO 

Good point. Also, with all those components so close to the edge, I would be very nervous that even a slight drop would render the whole phone useless. AppleCare would be more necessary than ever.  Maybe that’s another reason they might bring back TouchID, as a backup way to unlock. Not to mention, most case designs would have to change as well. 

Good points on top of good point, which is why I’m highly suspect of how accurate this could end up being. The fact that we are all giving this concept artist, because that’s exactly what this is, any airtime at all is pretty ridiculous anyway.