Apple’s Flagship iPhone Rumored To Keep Display Notch Until 2020
Of all the features that Apple's iPhone popularized, one of the most maligned was the notch. The notch came to be when the iPhone screen grew larger, and Apple needed somewhere to put the front camera and sensors for the smartphone. Several Android devices also use the notch, but some are already moving to using holes punched through the screen that the front camera shoots through. A new rumor has surfaced that claims Apple won't be following the punched hole screen trend with the next iteration of the iPhone.
The rumor came from Chinese leaker Ice Universe who recently tweeted that the new iPhone models expected next Fall will still use a notch. The leaker goes on to claim that the 2020 iPhone models will have a hole in the display that the camera will hide inside. It's hard to know the accuracy of any iPhone rumors, but rumors for the 2019 iPhones are suspect at this point because the devices are so far away and most of the legitimate leaked data tends to come from the ecosystem as they build accessories and the manufacturing lines as production is ramped. It's certainly far too early to put any real stock in 2020 iPhone rumors.
That said, we do know that Apple filed a patent back in 2016 that outlined a way to put holes in displays to hide cameras and sensors inside. That means Apple will want to adopt the tech that Android devices are starting to adopt today at some point down the road. The coming Honor View 20 will have a punched hole display, and rumors suggest that the Galaxy S10 will have one as well. One thing Apple will need to address before it ditches its notch is how to get Face ID to work without a notch.
The Face ID sensors would require multiple holes to be drilled inside the screen. Apple could choose to transition back to Touch ID using one of the available in-screen fingerprint sensors. As much as Apple has touted Face ID and with it being a feature that is well ahead of the Android competition, it's hard to imagine Apple ditching that feature.
