iPhone 18 Pro leak claims under-display Face ID is on the way

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in iPhone edited May 5

The iPhone 18 Pro models will have an under-display Face ID system, a leaker claims, reviving a long-time rumor for the 2026 model.

Smartphone screen showing weather widget with current temperature of 65 degrees and a battery status widget. Time displayed as 9:23 with full battery icon.
The Dynamic Island hides the front-facing camera on the current-gen iPhone



The idea of an iPhone that loses sight of the front-facing camera by hiding it under the screen has long been a concept that could revolutionize the smartphone's appearance. If a leaker is correct, then it should arrive with the iPhone 18 generation.

In a post to Weibo on Monday, "Digital Chat Station" posted that they had checked out the Apple supply chain, and found out some information about the front-facing cameras. For the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, the leaker says the 3D depth mapping system used to power Face ID is "under the screen."



However, the same cannot be said for the iPhone 18 and the iPhone 18 Air. For those devices, there's a "regular 21 hole digging," which seems to mean there will be a visible camera for those models.

The leaker doesn't offer any other details relating to the smartphones in the post, other than the discussion of an under-screen Face ID system.

Among Weibo leakers, Digital Chat Station has a fairly good track record when it comes to Apple-related products. The account has previously offered leaks about the iPhone Fold display, and the use of an under display Face ID system in a future foldable iPad.

Repeatedly invisible



The probability of the latest Face ID Weibo leak for the iPhone being real is aided by previous rumors. Various forecasts have been raised about the concept, and how it should be arriving in the iPhone 18 generation, though it has been teased for previous models too.

In late 2023, reports claimed that the under-screen Face ID feature won't arrive until "after 2026," with it being an iPhone 18 feature at the earliest. It reappeared in May 2024, with a 2026 release anticipated after being "pushed back" from the iPhone 17 generation.

The challenge of creating a camera under the display is complicated by it being used for Face ID. It also has to account for the use of infrared dot emitters, barring a major refresh to how Face ID functions at a fundamental level.

Even so, it's been talked about enough by the rumor mill and analysts that it feels like it should be on the way next year. So long as Apple solves the engineering problem.

Rumor Score: Possible

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    Oliver#65oliver#65 Posts: 5member
    This will be great tech  but if the iPhone 18 launches with Apple’s C1 or C2 modem and not a Snapdragon it’s DOA ☺️☺️
    appleinsideruserdewmewilliamlondondanox
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  • Reply 2 of 7
    Xedxed Posts: 3,140member
    Oliver#65 said:
    This will be great tech  but if the iPhone 18 launches with Apple’s C1 or C2 modem and not a Snapdragon it’s DOA ☺️☺️
    How so?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 7
    charlesncharlesn Posts: 1,444member
    Xed said:
    Oliver#65 said:
    This will be great tech  but if the iPhone 18 launches with Apple’s C1 or C2 modem and not a Snapdragon it’s DOA ☺️☺️
    How so?
    Exactly. You can always rely on preposterous declarations like this to lack any support or logic. Well, considering that Apple is not going to set aside its many years of work and many billions of dollars invested to successfully produce its own modem chip (and the C1 has proven excellent so far), I guess there's no choice left for Apple other than to cancel the iPhone 18. 
    edited May 5
    beowulfschmidtdewmeAlex1N
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  • Reply 4 of 7
    Xedxed Posts: 3,140member
    charlesn said:
    Xed said:
    Oliver#65 said:
    This will be great tech  but if the iPhone 18 launches with Apple’s C1 or C2 modem and not a Snapdragon it’s DOA ☺️☺️
    How so?
    Exactly. You can always rely on preposterous declarations like this to lack any support or logic. Well, considering that Apple is not going to set aside its many years of work and many billions of dollars invested to successfully produce its own modem chip (and the C1 has proven excellent so far), I guess there's no choice left for Apple other than to cancel the iPhone 18. 
    If he wants to opine that the C1 doesn't have the features of the current Qualcomm offerings for a high-end device and that the current rumors of the C2 aren't looking much better blah blah whatever, I'd be more than happy to read a thoughtful comment about why it may take Apple a few more iterations to truly be better than Qualcomm or even how Apple will not be able to beat them, but to 1) make a baseless claim about an iPhone that isn't expected to launch until 2027, and 2) use a hyperbolical "dead on arrival" claim just isn't going to cut it for me.
    thtdewmeAlex1Ndanox
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  • Reply 5 of 7
    thttht Posts: 5,917member
    It would be a big milestone if they use a metalens for the IR camera. I can see the dot projector being on the bezel like the speaker is.
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  • Reply 6 of 7
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,586member
    I assume they'll use similar tech LG's transparent TV, and filter out IR interference using some data models and or sensors. 
    Alex1N
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  • Reply 7 of 7
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,715member
    Oliver#65 said:
    This will be great tech  but if the iPhone 18 launches with Apple’s C1 or C2 modem and not a Snapdragon it’s DOA ☺️☺️
    Buy a Windows PC with an Intel cpu you deserve it….

    So Apple is not allowed to design engineer and iterate over time with the C1? Like they did with the M series SOC’S which, by the way are one generation @ the most two generations away from being at the top of the heap when it comes to CPU’S/GPU’S across the line when compared to the competition Intel, AMD, and Nvidia. Your observation is the same attitude leading up to the M1 introduction. The M5 and M6 will be beasts pretty good for a company who can’t innovate…. according to the tech and Wall Street world.

    https://www.notebookcheck.net/Qualcomm-s-Snapdragon-X-Elite-laptops-have-a-dirty-secret-when-it-comes-to-external-monitor-support.896451.0.html  Qualcomm troubles are interesting many of them would generate the word doomed if they were Apple. But the word doomed seems to be reserved for just for Apple.

    https://browser.geekbench.com/mobile-benchmarks ; Qualcomm five years behind….

    https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/qualcomm-faces-benchmark-cheating-allegations-snapdragon-x-eliteplus-benchmarks-claimed-to-be-fraudulent#xenforo-comments-3843099

    https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/arm-sues-qualcomm-over-its-1-4-billion-nuvia-acquisition/ Qualcomm has other worries.


    On other hand Qualcomm wasn’t happy and is probably getting their legal department together to sue Apple over the C1 modem, because in time Apple will execute, it is just one more thing Apple has done that will leave Qualcomm even further in the dust. They already are functionally five years (generations) behind Apple Silicon iPhone SOC’S and that will only increase when Apple introduces the M5 series in the fall, and the C1 will only get better C2 and C3 most certainly are already being worked on with the C2 probably already finished in the back room.

    edited May 5
    neoncat
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