Your Next iPhone Selfie Could Come From an Invisible Camera

Apple plans to hide the front-facing camera completely under the display of its 2027 iPhone, according to reports, in what would be the final step in the company's two-decade quest to eliminate everything standing between users and an uninterrupted screen.

A proven leaker out of China last month said Apple's under-screen camera development is on track for the 20th-anniversary iPhone, arriving one year after the company could debut under-display Face ID on iPhone 18 Pro models in 2026.

Several Android phones already hide their selfie cameras this way, but the photographic results have been mixed at best. Images tend to look soft and washed out because the lens sits behind display pixels, which block light and create distortion. It's just the kind of quality compromise Apple typically refuses to make, which is why it hasn't implemented under-screen cameras in any iPhone models thus far.

But by some accounts, Apple has finally cracked it. JP Morgan recently reported the first foldable iPhone will feature an industry-first 24-megapixel camera tucked under the inner display. That's a huge jump from the 4 to 8 megapixels most under-display cameras use today, suggesting Apple has figured out how to improve light transmission and image quality so that the results are indistinguishable from a typical non-obstructed selfie camera.

According to a December 2023 report, LG Innotek has been developing under-display cameras for Apple using a "freeform optic" lens array designed to reduce distortion and compensate for brightness loss. Whether this technology makes it into the foldable iPhone or waits for the 2027 model remains unclear.

The invisible camera fits into a broader redesign rumored for the 20th-anniversary iPhone. Apple is reportedly planning a completely bezel-less display that curves around all four edges of the device, which would see it finally achieve the all-screen design the company has been chasing since the iPhone X.

On that note, there's a strong possibility Apple will skip "iPhone 19" nomenclature entirely. The company did the same thing for the 10th anniversary in 2017, announcing the iPhone X alongside the iPhone 8 and skipping over the iPhone 9 name altogether. But whether we get an iPhone XX or iPhone 20 in 2027 is still anyone's guess. The real question is whether Apple can deliver invisible camera quality that matches or exceeds the visible ones we use today.