One of the world’s most renowned Apple analysts is predicting that the company will deliver an under-display camera system for its iPhone line in 2024.
Ming-Chi Kuo laid out his thinking in a pair of tweets, explaining that ‘high-end iPhones’ launched in 2014 will bring the front-facing selfie camera into the display itself, freeing up even more room on the front face of a given device for the screen.
Kuo noted that the key technical obstacles to delivering this technology revolve around Image Signal Processing and image algorithms; but, in sticking to his earlier prediction that the in-display camera would arrive with the anticipated iPhone 16, he suggested that Apple is solidly on track to resolve those challenges, having previously explained that the plan for a 2024 launch “is less of a technical issue and more of a marketing purpose.”
In the meantime, the rumor mill currently suggests that Apple will debut a so-called ‘hole punch’ or ‘punch and pill’ design housing the camera in this year’s anticipated iPhone 14, and that this design will be maintained in next year’s presumed iPhone 15. This would replace the notch housing the camera in the current iPhone design, at least on premium models of the iPhone devices, if the rumors are true.
While Apple is often a trailblazer when it comes to smartphone innovation, the company is lagging behind Asia-based rivals when it comes to under-display camera technology. OPPO, for example, showed off under-display tech in prototype form last summer, following ZTE’s launch of a commercial device featuring in-display camera tech in 2020; and Samsung featured the technology in its Galaxy Z Fold 3 foldable smartphone last year, though its quality came under some critical scrutiny from phone reviewers.
Apple, perhaps, may be biding its time to make sure it gets this technology absolutely right, especially given the prominence and sophistication of its 3D face scanning system. Then again, Ming-Chi Kuo could be wrong about its timeline, or whether an in-display camera is even in the works at Cupertino. He had previously predicted that the 2021 iPhone would feature a Touch ID fingerprint scanner in its power button, whereas it turned out that the iPhone 13 didn’t support fingerprint recognition at all.
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