Apple is allegedly testing new Face ID prototypes with new optics – and some are small enough that the company may shrink the notch on its future phones, which could include the upcoming iPhone 12 series.
Apple is working on multiple variations of Face ID components, according to leaker Ben Geskin with follow-up information from PhoneArena. This includes lenses that will make notches smaller - or potentially even tiny enough to fit in the phone’s top bezel.
Apple is testing a few Face ID prototypes with new optics, some are smaller in width, some are narrower to fit in the top bezel.October 22, 2019
What’s more, the new Face ID parts could be faster and more secure – as well as enable scanning from varying angles, including while laying flat.
The different – and perhaps smaller – notch would only make it to the (assumedly named) iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. This is assumedly due to the cost-cutting in the baseline iPhone 12 (as in the iPhone 11 before it) – but, good news, the new budget flagship will ditch the 2019 model’s LCD screen in favor of an OLED. Big news if true.
But wait, there’s more: rear cameras and 5G
The leaked information continues, suggesting that the rear camera block will stay, though the phones may get a Time of Flight sensor, while the budget flagship iPhone 12 could get one - or add a telephoto lens.
The phones’ bodies will get wider antennas on the top, bottom, and sides - over 1mm thick - to allegedly make them compatible with 5G networks, which they were expected to support in all 2020 iPhones.
Finally, while the iPhone 12 Pro models are expected to switch to USB-C at long last (while the budget flagship stays with Lightning), the leaked info suggests that Apple’s ultimate plan is to ditch ports entirely - charging will be done wirelessly, while ultra-wideband (UWB) tech will be used to transfer data. That portless plan won’t be put into action until 2023, Geskin’s information concludes.
- Here's the list so far: 5G phones
