iPhone 13 could have a smaller notch and even more camera sensors

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LiDAR all round

iPhone 12 Pro
The iPhone 12 Pro (Image credit: Future)

One of our consistent complaints about the iPhone range is the notch cutting into the screen, but a new report suggests that while it will probably still be present in the iPhone 13 range, it might at least be smaller.

That’s according to DigiTimes, which explains that Apple will apparently streamline the chip used in the front-facing camera, allowing the company to shrink the notch. The site also claims that all four iPhone 13 models will have a LiDAR scanner, rather than just the Pro models as we’ve seen on the iPhone 12 range.

This all sounds good, but we’d take it with a serious side of salt, as DigiTimes doesn’t have a very good track record when it comes to leaks, and with us being so far from the likely September 2021 launch of the iPhone 13 range, the chance of this or any leak being accurate is also lower than it might be closer to launch.

Nothing new

For what it’s worth, Jon Prosser has also weighed in on this claim in a recent Front Page Tech video. The leaker – who himself had an iffy track record in much of 2020 – pointed out that Apple has apparently been looking into reducing the notch size for years now, and we’ve been hearing rumors of the same for years, yet so far it hasn’t happened.

According to Prosser there are many iPhone 13 prototypes, including one with a smaller notch, but he reckons it’s way too early to say whether this one will make it into production.

As for the LiDAR scanner – which acts as a depth sensor for the rear cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max – it’s entirely possible we’ll see that extended to the rest of the range, but equally Apple is going to want to keep some features for the Pro models, so we wouldn’t count on that either.

We expect loads more iPhone 13 rumors will roll in as we dive into 2021, so if either of these changes are in the works we’ll probably hear plenty more about them soon.

Via PocketNow

James Rogerson
James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.