Apple May Hide the 20th-Anniversary iPhone’s Front Camera Beneath the Display
4RMD
Toggle Dark Mode
A new report suggests that Apple plans to put the 20th anniversary iPhone’s front-facing camera beneath the display, corroborating previous rumors that the milestone iPhone model, due in 2027, will have no visible display cutouts.
This latest report comes from Weibo-based leaker “Digital Chat Station,” who shared that Apple’s under-screen camera development is reportedly progressing smoothly and should be ready on schedule for its 2027 model. If all goes according to plan, Apple’s first step — under-display Face ID — should arrive in next year’s iPhone 18 Pro models, paving the way for a completely hidden camera system by 2027.
“Apple plans to release an under-display front camera on its smartphones in 2027; hopefully, Android devices can launch similar features around the same time, combining 3D under-display face recognition with an under-display camera,” the leaker said on Weibo.
While there are several Android phones that already boast selfie cameras under their display, the image quality is less than optimal because the lens sits beneath multiple display layers. Many analysts believe that Apple has put off an iPhone with an under-display front-facing shooter due to those image imperfections, although it has reportedly been working on its own version of such a system for quite a while now. Many observers now believe we’ll see a front-facing shooter beneath the screen as soon as next year in the first-ever foldable iPhone.
A September report indicated that Apple’s 20th anniversary iPhone will use OLED display technology developed by Samsung called COE (Color Filter on Encapsulation), which would provide a brighter and thinner display panel.
The process results in an overall display stack that’s much thinner, allowing more light to pass through to improve brightness while also reducing the power requirement. While such a display would lack a polarizing film, making reflections harder to deal with, Apple added a new anti-reflective coating to this year’s iPhones that could be refined in future iPhone generations.
An under-display camera reportedly being developed by LG Innotek — one of Apple’s key Korean suppliers — leaves no visible hole when active. The new camera system uses a “freeform optic” multi-lens array that reduces image distortion and improves brightness, allowing the system to compensate for the light loss that can occur when a camera is hidden behind a display.
JP Morgan recently claimed that Apple’s first foldable will have a 24-megapixel camera hidden under the inner display. Such a camera would be an industry first, as previous under-screen camera systems typically use much lower-resolution shooters ranging from 4 to 8 megapixels. This suggests that Apple may have developed a new design that greatly improves light transmittance and image quality over its competitors.
Apple’s 20th anniversary iPhone is also expected to boast a radical redesign, possibly sporting a completely bezel-less display curving around all four edges of the device. In June, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said iOS 26‘s shiny new Liquid Glass design foreshadows the design of Apple’s upcoming 20th-anniversary iPhone.
Samsung offered displays with curved edges on its Galaxy smartphones for several model years, although the designs were never completely bezel-free. Samsung dropped the curved look with the release of the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Although the 2027 iPhone models would logically be called the “iPhone 19,” Apple is widely expected to skip that moniker, calling it the iPhone 20 or something similar to mark the 20th anniversary. Apple set a precedent for this in 2017 when it skipped the “iPhone 9,” calling the 10th anniversary model the “iPhone X” — the Roman numeral for 10. The device was released alongside the iPhone 8 lineup.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
