On May 11th, industry insider Ross Young revealed that Apple's under-screen Face ID technology is delayed by a year. The iPhone 18 Pro series in 2026 will be the first to feature under-screen Face ID, while even the non-Pro models, the iPhone 19 in 2029, will also upgrade to under-screen Face ID.
With the implementation of under-screen Face ID, the front of the iPhone 18 Pro series will only have a single pinhole camera, marking the official end of the era of the notch.
Publicly available information shows that starting from the iPhone X, Apple ushered in the era of the notch. Within this notch, Apple integrated the TrueDepth camera system, enabling 3D facial recognition. This system comprises several precision components, including an infrared camera, flood illuminator, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, front camera, and dot projector.
From the iPhone X to the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple transitioned from the notch to the pill-shaped cutout. It is evident that Apple's technological evolution is gradually reducing the notch area. The current iPhone 15 series already features a pill-shaped cutout, with the next goal being to place the entire Face ID system under the screen, leaving only a single front camera on the front.
This implies that Apple will need to place multiple precision components such as the flood illuminator, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and dot projector under the screen. This solution is expected to be commercially available at the earliest with the iPhone 18 Pro series.
