“iPhone 14 Pro” allegedly with two camera holes

Two punched holes instead of a notch? According to a well-known display analyst, Apple is apparently working on a radical change in its front camera design for the “iPhone 14 Pro”. While it was said recently that the group would move parts of the True Depth module for Face ID facial recognition under the display, there is now new speculation that the “Notch” in the new Pro models will be replaced by a round plus a pill-shaped hole should be, in which the respective components are stuck.

Once a pill, once a circle

A pill-shaped “punch-hole” design instead of indentation was said to be the latest leaked look for the “iPhone 14 Pro”. However, this would have required Apple to succeed in realizing Face ID, including a dot projector and other components, in an in-display design. But that doesn’t seem to work there the infrared camera does not seem to fit (yet).. This is what Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) assumes, who has often been right in the past when it comes to Apple screen technology. “Not this year,” he wrote on Twitter. “Now more like 2023 or 2024 for infrared under the panel.”

Young believes that Apple will split the notch in two in the future. The pill-shaped hole would therefore be for the selfie camera and infrared camera for Face ID and the round cutout for the dot projector, which is the central element for face detection. Accordingly, Face ID would not migrate completely under the screen before the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro. Young’s statement thus coincides with a prediction by the well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who had already claimed this in April last year.

Components already appeared in autumn

The double hole also fits shots from Apple’s supply chain, the had already appeared on Twitter in the autumn. They apparently show the back of the display and two holes in it – one round and one pill-shaped. The components are intended for 6.1 and 6.7 inch displays (“iPhone 14 Pro” and “iPhone 14 Pro Max”). The pictures do not show whether the panel is closed over the second, round hole or whether it is punched out.

With all this, one wonders what advantage Apple would have with the new design. There are a few punch-hole cameras on Android devices, but mostly in the form of an inconspicuous single round hole. Apple’s variant would be significantly more disruptive and not necessarily an advantage over the more uniform notch. It also remains unclear how software should deal with the two holes. Between the two there is very little space for possible content.

(bsc)