Apple introduced the interactive Dynamic Island ‘pill’ with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, making the feature standard with all iPhone 15 models. Looking at the company’s earlier decisions, it is unlikely that it will make a change after just a couple of launches, but one rumor claims that an iPhone 16 Pro prototype is apparently being tested with a front-facing punch-hole camera.
Apple switching to a punch-hole camera for the iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max would mean an under-display Face ID solution will be necessary
Entities such as Apple and Samsung test a multitude of prototypes before settling on one design, making refinements from the previous iterations to the current model. On this occasion, Majin Bu has heard that the iPhone 16 Pro, and by extension, the larger iPhone 16 Pro Max, are being tested with a punch-hole camera. Such camera cutouts have been adopted by Apple’s Android handset competitors, increasing the screen-to-body ratio. However, all of these manufacturers have one thing in common; none of them have adopted Face ID.
At this time, Apple is the only company that has incorporated a slew of components surrounding the front-facing camera that allow for reliable facial recognition thanks to an IR scanner, dot projector, and others. Assuming Apple switches to a front-facing punch-hole camera next year, it must make immense modifications and adopt an under-display Face ID solution. The problem is that all sensors found underneath the display so far have their image quality hammered, and Face ID’s reliability might also be compromised if Apple follows this path.
Apple is testing a iPhone 16 Pro hole punch version, but it may not be finalized. Details will depend on March next year. I guess most likely we won’t see such a version until the iPhone 17 pic.twitter.com/exeo8gWoT0
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) November 10, 2023
Even on Majin Bu’s thread, several people are unconvinced that Apple will switch to a punch-hole camera after just two generations, while others believe that it will be adopted on the 2025 iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Display Supply Chain Consultants’ founder and CEO Ross Young has also stated earlier that this solution will be found in Apple’s future handsets, not the iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max, so while a prototype might be tested, it is not necessarily that this design ends up on the mass production line.
News Source: Majin Bu