It could be a while before Apple puts Face ID behind the iPhone’s screen

Rumors suggest Apple is experiencing delays in its development of under-display facial recognition, which means the feature might not launch until 2025.

Max Buondonno March 9, 2023

All signs point to Apple completely getting rid of cutouts at the top of the iPhone’s display in the future, and for that to happen, it needs to place the Face ID sensors behind the screen. The tech is out there, with companies like Samsung shipping phones with under-display selfie cameras. Development is apparently going well, but it seems like the company has hit a few roadblocks, at least according to industry analyst – and avid leaker – Ross Young.

Under panel Face ID is now expected to be pushed at least a year to 2025 or later due to sensor issues.
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) March 9, 2023

According to Young, Apple is having sensor issues with its implementation, which could mean it’ll take at least another year before in-display Face ID ships on an iPhone. Previous rumors pointed to 2024 as being the year a full-screen iPhone would ship, but it now looks like we’ll have to wait until 2025 at the earliest.

Apple’s evolution of the iPhone is slowly morphing into a device that’s nothing but a glass brick with a screen. No physical buttons (they’re rumored to disappear as early as this year), no ports, and no camera bump (hopefully). Placing Face ID behind the screen is a necessity if Apple wants to achieve the aesthetic it’s eyeing, so it’s going to take its time in order to get it right.

Honestly, I can’t blame them. The under-display selfie camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 isn’t great, and if Apple wants to have the same technology on the iPhone, they’ll need to nail it for the large amount of selfie-takers in its user base (read: almost every iPhone user).

Huawei’s new Mate X3 is thinner and lighter than the Galaxy Z Fold 4

In addition, Apple is also developing an in-display fingerprint reader, which has been rumored to come to the iPhone for years. It still hasn’t, and it doesn’t look like it’ll surface until a few years have passed that Face ID is under the screen. Naver user yeux1122 (a leaker with some history in the Apple world) predicts two to three years after the Face ID shift has taken place, Apple will consider adding Touch ID to the mix.

This year, Apple is rumored to add rounder edges to the iPhone 15 series, as well as bring the Dynamic Island to the less-expensive iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models. All four new iPhones are expected to come with USB-C ports, upgraded cameras, and even bigger camera bumps.