It appears that Apple is finally parting ways with the much-maligned notch on iPhones. It’s going to be a half-hearted breakup, though. Korea-based TheElec reports that LG and Samsung will be supplying LTPO OLED panels for the iPhone 14 Pro and its pricier big brother. But this is no ordinary panel we’re talking about here. This one has no boat-shaped notch at the top, but there will be a hole drilled in its place to house the camera.
The report cites industry insiders and claims that LG will supply a small share of LTPO panels for the iPhone 14 Pro, while Samsung hogs the rest of the orders of this new kind of display — for Apple, that is. Popularly known as the hole-punch design, it allows phone makers to avoid the notch in any shape or size. Instead, a hole is drilled in one of the top corners or the top center of the phone to host the selfie camera.
Now, rumors about Apple ditching the notch and embracing the hole-punch design in 2022 have been floating around for a while. Some folks even went ahead and created dazzling concept renders, giving us a taste of what to expect. Then came a prediction from TFI Securities analyst and prolific Apple surprise-spoiler Ming-Chi Kuo, who claimed in an investor note that a hole-punch cutout will appear on iPhones next year.
Farewell notch, you won’t be missed!
With the wide notch gone, one might wonder what happens to the “revolutionary: Face ID authentication system. Well, Ross Young from supply chain analysis firm DSCC recently tweeted that Face ID will be moved under the display, just like under-screen fingerprint sensors on a ton of Android phones out there. And in case that doesn’t pan out, Apple will put the trusty Touch ID fingerprint sensor beneath the screen, claims Young, who maintains a fairly solid track record with display-related industry news.
Unfortunately, the non-Pro iPhone 14 models won’t get the same hole-punch display treatment, it seems. They will likely stick with the notch aesthetics for at least another generation, or two. We might not get an iPhone 14 Mini either, as Apple reportedly isn’t too happy with the underwhelming sales figures of the mini model across the iPhone 12 and 13 series.
As for the LTPO term, it stands for Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide. It is the same tech that allows the screen on the iPhone 13 Pro to automatically adjust its refresh rate to provide the best visual experienc, and also save some battery juice while at it. The ProMotion tech on the iPad Pro and the new MacBook Pro does something similar, but the refresh rate numbers don’t offer the same adjustment range on these devices as they do on the iPhone 13 Pro.