It’s been nearly eight years since the iPhone X—the first reduced-frame iPhone—brought Apple closer to the idea of an “full-screen” device. First, the notch, and then the Dynamic Island, prevented that vision from becoming reality. Apple still needed a place for the front-facing camera and Face ID module.
Patents aimed at integrating these components under the display have circulated for some time (other manufacturers have attempted similar solutions with moderate success). Apple’s latest patent, published by the specialized site Patently Apple, suggests the company has found a solution.
Why it matters. The vision of an “full-screen” iPhone dates back years. Former senior vice president of design Jony Ive once described it as the ultimate design goal for the iPhone.
Ive left Apple more than five years ago after a gradual decline in influence. Still, it seems reasonable that this vision remains a key design objective for the iPhone.
In detail. This vision requires integrating everything under the display in the Dynamic Island—the front camera and Face ID module. While the technology to embed a front camera under the display exists, other manufacturers have implemented it with significant compromises in image quality. It’s unlikely Apple would accept such trade-offs.
However, it’s already possible to send infrared light through a display. The challenge is that it’s inefficient, making facial recognition slower and less reliable than current standards.
- In earlier attempts, Apple experimented with selectively turning off pixels to improve infrared light transmission.
- The new patent proposes removing some subpixels rather than entire pixels.
The drawback. Subpixels are the individual red, green, and blue light emitters that make up each pixel. By combining in various configurations, they display the necessary colors.
Apple’s technique involves turning off specific subpixels to let infrared light pass through invisibly to the human eye. Subpixels would only turn off if their neighboring pixel emits the same color, minimizing visual disruption.
In context. A similar idea has lingered since the iPhone 15 launched in 2023, with speculation resurfacing before the iPhone 16 was announced. This makes it hard to confidently claim, “this year, yes.”
According to 9to5Mac, reports suggest one of the iPhones released in 2025 may feature a much smaller Dynamic Island. If it’s the Pro Max model, as Apple analyst Jeff Pu predicts, integrating the Face ID module under the display seems like the most likely method. The front-facing camera would remain the sole visible component.
Image | omid armin (Unsplash)
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