Display analyst Ross Young has one of the best track records for Apple leaks. A few years ago, he revealed the iPhone roadmap until 2027. While he’s been correct about the 2022 and 2023 releases, he has now corrected a prediction about the iPhone 17, as this device won’t feature under-panel Face ID anymore.
He says Apple pushed this technology for the 2026 iPhone 18 Pro. At this moment, it’s unclear why Apple decided to make this change. Still, Cupertino has been reportedly working on this technology for at least since the iPhone 15 Pro, when it was revealed that OTI Lumiotics was trying to secure under-panel Face ID orders.
With that, it’s possible that the TrueDepth sensor might not be working as expected when added below the OLED display. Still, even though Apple might not tweak the design of the iPhone 17 Pro models, Young expects the company to add a low-temperature polycrystalline oxide display to all 2025 models. This means Always-On Display is still scheduled for the regular iPhone 17 models, making it more similar to the Pro iterations.
This revised prediction shows that under-panel Face ID is coming with the iPhone 18 Pro models, with this technology pushed for the regular iPhone 18 in 2027. However, Apple might be preparing more than that for the 2027 release, as the iPhone will celebrate 20 years of its first launch.
That said, this is the new iPhone roadmap from now until 2027:
iPhone Pro:
- 2024: Pill shape
- 2025: Pill shape
- 2026: Under panel Face ID: + hole
- 2027: Under panel face ID + under panel camera
Regular iPhone:
- 2024: Pill shape without AOD and ProMotion
- 2025: Pill shape with AOD and ProMotion
- 2026: Pill shape with AOD and ProMotion
- 2027: Under panel Face ID + hole with AOD and ProMotion