With Apple’s 2025 hardware now out of the way, attention is quickly shifting to next year, and a new round of leaks suggests the iPhone 18 Pro may finally move Face ID under the display.
If true, this would be one of the biggest design changes to the iPhone in years, bringing it closer to the seamless, all-screen look Apple has been slowly pushing toward.
The latest claim comes from tipster Smart Pikachu, who says the materials Apple is testing point to “under-display 3D technology.” In plain terms, that could mean Face ID, or even the entire front camera system, would be hidden beneath the screen. This lines up with earlier reports, including from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman who previously said Apple had been exploring under-display Face ID for the iPhone 18 to shrink or eliminate the current Dynamic Island cutout.
It’s not a new idea in the wider smartphone world, of course. Samsung experimented with the tech on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and continued refining it across later foldables, while other brands like Redmagic have attempted similar implementations. The appeal is obvious: no hole-punch, no notch, and a cleaner, uninterrupted display.
But the downside has consistently been camera quality. Under-display selfie cameras often struggle with softness, haze, and muted colours, issues I also ran into recently when testing the RedMagic 11 Pro. Even Samsung eventually stepped back from relying on the tech for its primary selfie cameras, opting for more conventional solutions in devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
That’s why expectations should probably stay measured. While Apple is known for delaying features until it can deliver them without compromise, it’s still unclear whether the company is ready to ship under-display Face ID next year. Some reports suggest the tech may slip to the iPhone 20, with the base iPhone models getting it even later.
If Apple does manage to pull it off on the iPhone 18 Pro, it would be a major visual upgrade, but only if it avoids the quality pitfalls seen elsewhere. With just under a year to go before launch, there’s still plenty of time for the rumour cycle to evolve, so we’ll be watching closely to see which direction Apple ultimately takes.
