Apple is famous for the sleek, minimal design of its products, but sometimes functionality has to trump minimalism. That’s been the case with the iPhone’s Face ID system, which provides a very convenient and hands-free way to unlock your phone just by looking at it, but which requires a pill-shaped cutout at the top of the screen to work.
Now, though, it’s looking like Apple may ditch the cutout but keep the Face ID unlock option by using detectors placed beneath the screen instead. This under-screen Face ID option would mean that only a small cutout would be required in one corner of the screen for the front-facing camera, so the pill cutout could be removed.
The latest info comes from Ross Young, VP at Counterpoint Research, who wrote on X about an announcement at the Society for Information Display conference this week:
“At the SID Business Conference today, OTI Lumionics CEO Michael Helander confirmed that they expect phones with under panel Face ID using their materials to be available for sale in 2026,” Young wrote. “This suggests that iPhone 18 Pro models will have under panel Face ID with other brands and models to follow…”
Rumors about the switch to under-screen Face ID have been growing in recent weeks, with previous info on the iPhone 18 Pro also suggesting that this could be the case. However, it would be a technical challenge for Apple to pull this off, as a front-facing camera can easily create a 3D map of someone’s face using infrared dots, but this is much harder to do when the infrared signals have to pass through a OLED panel with high pixel density like that used on iPhones.
Apple did secure a patent last year for the placement of cameras behind an active display, suggesting that the company has been working on this change for some time. However, due to the significant amount of redesign work this would necessitate, it won’t be seen in the upcoming iPhone 17 series which is set to be released later this year. Instead, it is most likely to be a part of the plans for the iPhone 18 series, which is expected to be released in 2026.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.