The rumour mill continues to obsess about the changes Apple will need to make to the iPhone’s various front-facing sensors in order to get rid of the notch.
There are various different ways Apple could accommodate these changes (which we’ve explored in other articles such as How an iPhone could look without a notch and In defence of the notch). But the US analyst Ross Young has his eye on one method in particular, predicting that the Face ID infrared camera will be placed under the screen in next year’s iPhone models.
Before you get excited, bear in mind that Young doesn’t think this will happen this year, instead forecasting under-screen infrared in 2023 or even 2024.
Not this year. Now more like 2023 or 2024 for under panel IR.
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss)
January 12, 2022
The result could be an iPhone 15 (or iPhone 16, if the more pessimistic timing is accurate) with a truly all-screen design, free from a notch, a pill, a punch-hole or any other kind of obstruction.
While most customers would be glad to see the back of the notch at last, it’s possible that Apple will continue to offer notched designs on some of the models released in 2023. By limiting the full-screen design to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models, the company would increase interest in its more expensive models.
Young has been a reliable analyst in the past, with an astonishing accuracy rating of 100% (admittedly from a small sample size) on AppleTrack. But given that the launch isn’t expected until September 2023 or 2024, there’s plenty of time for Apple to change its mind; there’s the iPhone 14 launch to think about before then, of course.
If you don’t want to wait for all these devices to arrive, grab a bargain on the current range with our roundup of the best iPhone deals.
This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation (using DeepL) and additional reporting by David Price.
