If you’re an iPhone fan, you’ve probably been wondering whether or not the iPhone 14 is worth waiting for… but have you thought about waiting another two years for the iPhone 16?
According to reliable analyst Ming Chi KuoApple will wait until 2024 to introduce its under-display camera (UDC) technology, and will also put Face ID under the display. That’s the year we’d expect to see the iPhone 16, if Apple doesn’t decide to take a year off to release an S variant like it has in the past.
UDC technology allows the selfie camera to be housed below the screen, so you can’t see it at a glance, and some companies, including Samsung and ZTE, have already released phones that make use of this.
However, at the moment it is not an ideal way to reduce the screen real estate that a front camera takes up. The screen prevents a certain amount of light from reaching the camera sensor, so selfies often end up quite dull or dark, and while companies have used processing algorithms to compensate for this, it’s never a perfect solution.
And it would be an even bigger problem for Face ID, since the sensors require good lighting to scan your face and unlock the phone.
Kuo’s post mentions “quality improvements” for the front-facing camera on Apple’s 2024 iPhones, but it’s unclear if he says they’re in the works or just suggests they’re important.
I believe the true full-screen iPhone will arrive in 2024. High-end iPhones in 2024 would adopt an under-display front camera along with under-display Face ID. A low light condition is detrimental to the quality of the front camera, and the ISP and algorithm are critical to improving the quality. https://t.co/vWjeZYZUPKApril 20, 2022
Analysis: That’s one way to override the notch
Right now, the iPhone 14 series is reaching the top of the horizon, and one of the big discussions about the next phone is the notch.
Apple houses its front-facing cameras and Face ID sensors in a fairly large notch that eats up screen real estate. Android phone makers have been using cutouts, pop-up cameras, and UDCs for a few years as a way to retain as much display space as possible.
It’s not a direct comparison, though, because most Android phones don’t use the same facial recognition technology as Apple’s Face ID, so they don’t require as many front-facing sensors, but that hasn’t stopped Apple fans from demanding Something similar. for iphone
And according to these rumors, it could finally be happening, as leakers believe that certain iPhone 14 models will get cut-out segments for the front-facing camera and Face ID sensors.
This would be a good first step, but it probably won’t actually save much screen space, given the size of Apple’s Face ID array, so perhaps it should simply be treated as a stepping stone to a cutout-free iPhone screen. . .
If Kuo is right, Apple is clearly looking for a better way to hide the front-facing cameras, and even if UDCs aren’t the way it ultimately decides to go, at least it seems the company is aware of fan demands.