Leaker suggests under-screen selfie camera in iPhone 19

A leaker with a decent track record is suggesting that one or more iPhone 19 models will have an under-screen selfie camera.

With the Face ID tech expected to move beneath the display next year, that would potentially enable Apple to have an all-screen front, with no notch, Dynamic Island, or camera punch-hole by 2027 …

We’re expecting to see a two-stage move from Apple in its bid to have no interruptions to the iPhone screen.

Embedded Face ID

The first would be to embed the Face ID emitter and receiver beneath the display. There is now good reason to believe that this tech will debut in the iPhone 18 Pro.

An Apple patent published this year appeared to suggest that Apple had finally solved the biggest problem with this – namely, that infrared light doesn’t travel well through displays. The solution Apple describes is to remove subpixels from the display in a way that won’t be noticeable.

The Information reported earlier this month that the company would finally launch this tech in the two iPhone 18 Pro models, and a company long-rumored to be working with Apple on this subsequently said that it expects its technology to be used in a smartphone going on sale in 2026.

Under-screen selfie camera

The second, and far trickier, step will be to embed the front-facing camera beneath the screen. This is technically possible today, but the quality has been extremely poor.

Weibo user Digital Chat Station has previously made reference to internal tests of the technology, implying that these might relate to the iPhone Fold. Citing unspecified “supply-chain information,” they now suggest this is expected to debut in 2027.

2025: Great change on the back → horizontal large matrix lens DECO
2026: Major change in front → hole screen (Face ID under the screen)
2027: Comprehensive change → full screen (under-screen Face ID + front camera)

9to5Mac’s Take

On the one hand, this would be a very ambitious time-frame given the current state of the tech and Apple’s quality standards.

When selfie cameras first launched, they were mostly aimed at video calls, and were also used for very casual selfies. However, the selfie has since then become a huge part of the social media landscape, to the point where it’s now more likely than any of the rear-facing cameras to be used in many social situations.

Apple has always placed great emphasis on the photographic capabilities of the iPhone. Combine this with the company’s famed ‘be best, not first’ approach to new tech, and a 2027 launch would seem exceedingly ambitious.

On the other hand, 2027 would be the year for a 20th anniversary model, and Bloomberg has reported that this will be “extraordinarily complex” – so perhaps Apple really will pull out all the stops to make this the year it finally achieves that “single slab of glass” vision?

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