iPhone 18 Might Finally Bring Apple’s Long-Delayed Under-Display Face ID

A new leak coming out of China has put the spotlight back on something Apple users have been waiting for for years. The iPhone’s front might finally start looking cleaner.

Early prototypes of the iPhone 18 series are reportedly testing under-display Face ID hardware, and that alone is enough to get people talking.

Apple Seems To Be Pushing Face ID Under The Display

The leak comes from a known Weibo tipster who goes by Smart Pikachu (via). According to the post, Apple is trying out a setup that hides the Face ID infrared sensors beneath a micro transparent layer in the screen. These are the same depth sensors that make Face ID secure, so getting them out of sight is a big deal.

This isn’t coming out of nowhere either. Display analyst Ross Young mentioned a few years back that Apple might be able to deliver this kind of tech around 2026. Since then, we’ve seen reports suggesting delays, smaller cutouts, or just incremental changes for the next few iPhones. But this latest leak suggests the work might be moving a little quicker than people thought.

Don’t Expect A Fully Invisible Front Camera Yet

Even with all this movement, a completely uninterrupted display still feels a little out of reach. Phones like the RedMagic 11 Pro already hide their selfie cameras under the panel, but Apple has always been more cautious with image quality. And an under-display selfie camera is still the toughest part of the puzzle.

So the most realistic outcome for the iPhone 18 series is a smaller pill cutout rather than something entirely new. The idea of a tiny Android-style hole punch sounds exciting, but Apple tends to save major visual shifts for moments that matter. With the iPhone’s twentieth anniversary coming up in 2027, that’s starting to look like the target for a bigger redesign.

Suppliers Are Gearing Up, But Mass Production Still Isn’t Guaranteed

There’s also talk that suppliers have started preparing the under-panel modules Apple needs. That doesn’t confirm anything, though. Apple has walked away from promising ideas before if the tech wasn’t steady enough for millions of units.

If everything lines up, the iPhone 18 Pro may become the first model to get a noticeably cleaner front since the Dynamic Island arrived. It won’t be a dramatic makeover, but it could finally move Apple closer to that all-screen dream people have been asking about since the notch first appeared on the iPhone X.