According to a new report from The Elec, Apple has requested that Samsung Display and LG Display develop an OLED panel with no bezels on any of its sides. This panel will reportedly be used in future iPhones. However, creating such a display could take a very long time, meaning the futuristic-looking iPhone will not arrive for at least the next few years.
A few devices in the market already have an under-display camera (UDC), such as the Galaxy Z Fold 4. However, the image quality from UDCs is not as good as traditional selfie cameras. But that doesn't matter much on foldable phones as they have a conventional camera on the cover display. However, the under-display camera on the iPhone with a truly bezel-less screen would need impeccable image quality as it will be the only selfie camera on the phone, and perfecting the UDC tech could take a long time.
The display industry is still far away from developing a screen that has infrared-based face-scanning components placed under it, which is essential for the iPhone's Face ID feature. These, however, aren't the only challenges to developing a screen with zero bezels. Reportedly, Samsung and LG will also have to decrease the thickness of thin-film encapsulation (TFE) to eliminate bezels on the sides, which is very challenging.
TFE is made by stacking layers of inorganic film, which protects the screen from moisture and oxygen. The organic film fills gaps in the inorganic film and increases the overall flexibility of the display, alternatively. Reducing the thickness of the inorganic film would make it difficult to protect the display from moisture and oxygen, and reducing the thickness of the organic film will make it hard to fill gaps in the inorganic film. According to The Elec, Apple has requested the companies to reduce the thickness of both films.
With so many challenges involved, developing a truly bezel-less display with camera and Face ID components placed inside it could take a very long time, and we might not be able to see this display until iPhone 17. In the meantime, Apple is trying to reduce bezels on iPhones using various techniques. With the iPhone 14 Pro series, the company reduced bezels by introducing Dynamic Island, and the iPhone 15 Pro series will reportedly feature thinner bezels all around.
