When will the iPhone implement under-screen FaceID? Rumors continue. In April 2023, display industry analyst Ross Young shared a roadmap, which showed that the iPhone 17 Pro model will use under-screen FaceID. But in May 2024, Young said he heard the change had been delayed until 2026.
If so, this means that under-screen FaceID may debut on next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
In today's PowerOn newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman laid out a similar time frame. He said that by 2026 or 2027, the Smart Island of Pro models should be smaller because Apple will move more components within the Smart Island below the display.
iPhone 18 Pro models equipped with under-screen FaceID may still have a hole at the top of the display for the front-facing camera, similar to newer Android smartphones such as Google's Pixel 9 and Samsung's Galaxy S25.
Young has said in the past that he expects the iPhone to eventually feature both under-display FaceID and an under-display front-facing camera. If so, the iPhone will finally have a true full-screen design, which was what former Apple design director Jony Ive dreamed of.