Next year’s iPhone 16 Pro models will have the largest iPhone screens ever, according to Ross Young, a display analyst with a solid track-record. These models have also been reported to drop the notch in favor of under-screen Face ID.
While Young didn’t initially specify the precise sizes, when one Twitter user rounded up Ross’s figures to one significant digit, he replied that this was “close” …
Largest iPhone screens ever coming next year
Young tweeted:
Enough about the iPhone 15, is it time to start leaking about the iPhone 16 yet? Hearing about some new sizes on the Pro models […] 6.2z” and 6.8x”.
Aspect ratio will increase slightly on the iPhone 16 Pro models.
When one Twitter user suggested this meant that the sizes would effectively be as follows, Young gave the one-word reply “close.”
- iPhone 16: 6.1-inch
- iPhone 16 Plus: 6.7-inch
- iPhone 16 Pro: 6.4-inch
- iPhone 16 Ultra: 6.9-inch
This would mean that the display sizes of the two base models remain unchanged, while the iPhone 16 Pro would increase from 6.1-inch to around 6.4-inch, and the Pro Max from 6.7-inch to around 6.9-inch.
This would further differentiate the Pro models from the base ones.
Young clearly has good contacts within the supply-chain for Apple’s displays, across all product lines, so his reports are certainly to be taken seriously. It is, though, rather early for too much certainty, given that Apple will test multiple options for a number of potential features on future iPhones.
Under-screen Face ID
The biggest rumor about next year’s iPhone 16 models is that at least one of them is to get under-screen Face ID.
While The Elec last year suggested this would be coming to the iPhone 15 Pro, Young said no: it would be the iPhone 16. He said that suppliers would be submitting samples of the display back then, so it was likely these of which The Elec had learned.
We reconfirmed again that there is not expected to be under panel IR for iPhones until 2024, iPhone 16. Gotta start the development and start submitting samples now though.
Kuo backed this, saying that under-display Face ID would be coming to ‘high-end’ iPhone 16 models – but went further. He speculated that the front camera would also be beneath the screen.
I think the real full-screen iPhone will come in 2024. High-end iPhones in 2024 would adopt an under-display front camera alongside the under-display Face ID. A low-light condition is detrimental to front camera quality, and ISP & algorithm are critical for quality improvements.
This is the holy grail, allowing a true full-screen display without any notches, pills, or holes. The tech needed for this has existed for several years, but examples seen to date don’t offer the quality we’d expect from an iPhone.
While Kuo too has a decent track-record, it should be stressed that the analyst makes two very different types of tweet. First, those where his supply-chain sources provide evidence for something. Second, his own theories about what might happen, without specific evidence. The fact that he began the above quote with “I think” puts that into the latter category.
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