Embedded Face ID for iPhone 16 Pro, but won’t follow Samsung

Update: Coincidentally, Apple was granted a patent for this technology on the same day as the latest supply-chain report – see below.

The iPhone X introduced the notch, the iPhone 14 Pro the Dynamic Island – and the iPhone 16 Pro is expected to offer the next logical step: embedded Face ID components beneath the display itself.

However, the latest report says that we shouldn’t expect Apple to follow Samsung’s under-display camera approach before 2026…

Embedded Face ID beneath the display

Apple has had patents for embedded Face ID for quite a few years now, and at one point it was suggested that Apple might introduce the technology in this year’s iPhone 15.

However, display analyst Ross Young quickly dismissed that, stating that it would instead come to the iPhone 16 in 2024. He said that there are samples in existence within the Apple supply chain, but that is to be expected at this stage.

Subsequent reports by Ming-Chi Kuo and others stated that the feature would be limited to the iPhone 16 Pro models. This is consistent with Apple’s increasing policy of widening the gap between the base and Pro models, and in particular doing so with display tech. In the iPhone 14 lineup, for example, the base models stuck with the notch while the Pro models got the Dynamic Island.

Another report says it’s a Pro-only feature

A report by The Elec again echoes that embedded Face ID will be limited to Pro models next year, and it will make it into the base models in 2025.

Meanwhile, Apple is expected to apply the ‘underpanel face ID’ feature, which hides Face IDs below the screen from next year’s lineup of iPhone 16-series Pro. Applying an underpanel face ID requires ensuring display transparency and package technology as the external light penetrates the display and enters the face ID […]

With the current trend, Apple can also apply the Underpanel Face ID to the next year, the next year, the iPhone Series sub-line in 2025.

Update: Patent granted for the tech

Patently Apple spotted that the iPhone maker was granted a patent for the necessary technology on the same day as the supply-chain report.

Coincidentally, Apple…