The notch was, in my opinion, the second worst smartphone trend Apple popularized (removal of the headphone jack still comes first). But it seems my prayers are finally being answered because the company now wants to ditch the notch and dynamic island by putting the phone’s cameras under its display.Patent ‘12124291’ shows a method Apple might be working on to make the elimination of the notch a possibility without bringing back thick bezels. Having a camera under the display is nothing new, but if this works the smartphone industry might follow suit and bring us the phones we deserve.
The patent details a potential future device that will make use of a bandpass filter. This filter will help isolate which wavelengths of light hit the selfie camera and the Face ID sensor under the phone’s display. So if you’re taking a selfie the filter will let in wavelengths along the visible spectrum for optimal results. And if you need to unlock your phone using Face ID the filter will allow infrared light to pass through instead.
Image credit — Apple
Of course, whether Apple is able to make a display that can retain consistent visual quality across its entirety is still up for debate. Under-display cameras also don’t tend to have the best results, something Apple may not be too keen on. After all, the biggest upgrade to smartphones each year just seems to be the camera, and it’s only now that AI has taken center stage.With the camera control button however, it’s apparent that Apple still cares deeply about an excellent camera experience on the iPhone. Rumors point to an under-display camera for the iPhone 18 but nothing is set in stone, especially when it comes to patents. Apple also has another patent for how it could implement under-display cameras on future devices.
The company is known to take its time perfecting something and doing it the Apple way so I highly doubt we’ll see an iPhone with a wonky under-display camera. For the time being Apple needs to focus on its staggered AI launch and its disappointing software updates.
