The 20th anniversary iPhone that Apple will reportedly release in 2027 is rumored to feature an all-glass, all-screen design, but we might not have to wait until the iPhone 20’s arrival to experience the iPhone design many have been waiting for since Apple introduced the iPhone X in 2017. A new report says next year’s foldable iPhone will be the first iPhone to feature under-display camera technology for the selfie camera.
Leaks in recent years have claimed that Apple would eventually move the Dynamic Island under the screen, starting with the Face ID components and then the selfie cameras. Those reports detailed Apple’s plans for traditional iPhones, but they were never confirmed. More recently, leaks said Apple pushed back its timeline for removing the Dynamic Island in iPhones featuring true all-screen displays.
Almost every iPhone since the iPhone X has done its best to eliminate the bezels, with the exception of iPhone SE models. The “all-screen” design that Apple introduced in 2017 had one major compromise: the cutout at the top, also known as the notch, housing Face ID components and the selfie camera. The notch shrank in size over the years, transitioning to the Dynamic Island cutout the iPhone 14 Pro models introduced in 2022. The upcoming iPhone 17 series will reportedly feature the same basic design.
Testing the waters with the foldable iPhone
Reports earlier this year said the iPhone 18 Pro models would introduce a new design. Face ID components would go under the display, while the selfie camera would move to the left of the display. The iPhone 18 Pros would feature a hole-punch display similar to what’s available on Android phones. Such an innovation is feasible only if the Face ID system works flawlessly despite being covered by the OLED display layer. Apple could always delay such a design if Face ID functionality would suffer in the process.
A recent report from JPMorgan, seen by 9to5Mac, says that the first foldable iPhone will feature an under-display 24-megapixel front camera, which would make an all-screen iPhone possible. 9to5Mac speculates that both the cover display and the foldable display would feature under-display selfie cameras with identical sensors. Thus, the iPhone 18 Fold could remove the cutouts altogether.
The iPhone 18 Fold will not feature Face ID tech, according to recent reports. The foldable iPhone might be too thin for Face ID, so Apple will bring back Touch ID on a side button. One unexpected benefit is that Apple won’t have to worry about under-display Face ID functionality. If JPMorgan’s report is accurate, Apple will only need to place a selfie camera under an iPhone display next year.
Apple wouldn’t be the first company to make phones with cameras under the screen. Chinese vendor ZTE was one of the first. Samsung placed selfie cameras under the foldable displays of several models in the Galaxy Z Fold line as well. Interestingly, this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 features a hole-punch selfie camera instead. Samsung used 4-megapixel selfie cameras in Fold models between 2021 (Z Fold 3) and 2024 (Z Fold 6).
Is Apple getting ready for the iPhone 20?
There’s one more good reason for Apple to introduce under-display selfie cameras as soon as possible. If the iPhone 20 rumors are accurate, that phone might have both the selfie camera and the Face ID system placed under the screen to offer users an all-screen display experience with no cutouts. Apple will want to test these technologies in commercial products before making them available more widely.
An iPhone 18 Pro with a hole-punch display (Face ID under the screen) and an iPhone 18 Fold with at least one selfie camera under the screen would let Apple test the two innovations with buyers and ensure they’re reliable. Apple would then refine the experiences for the iPhone 20.
It’s not just about making sure Face ID can project invisible dots on the face of the user and then scan them to authenticate the user. It’s also about guaranteeing that the selfie camera performance would not degrade. Cameras placed under the OLED panel will have to take photos and record videos of a quality comparable to traditional iPhone selfie cameras that pierce the display in current iPhone designs.
There’s always the risk of Apple running into development issues regardless of its ambitions for the iPhone 20 series. Well-known display expert Ross Young talked about a three-stage plan for the Dynamic Island redesign back in June. The rumored plan is more conservative than JPMorgan’s note: The iPhone 18 series will introduce a smaller Dynamic Island next year; Face ID will go under the OLED panel in 2028; the selfie camera will follow in 2030.
