Ford Targets Level 3 Autonomous Driving by 2028 with New EV Platform and AI Innovations 
Dell Revives XPS Laptop Lineup With New XPS 14 and XPS 16 to Boost Premium PC Demand 
Discord Confidentially Files for U.S. IPO, Signaling Major Milestone 
SK Hynix Shares Hit Record High as AI Memory Demand Fuels Semiconductor Rally 
Mercedes-Benz to Launch Advanced Urban Self-Driving System in the U.S., Challenging Tesla FSD 
Anthropic Launches HIPAA-Compliant Healthcare Tools for Claude AI Amid Growing Competition 
Nvidia Unveils Rubin Platform to Power Next Wave of AI Infrastructure 
Nvidia Appoints Former Google Executive Alison Wagonfeld as First Chief Marketing Officer 
AMD Unveils Next-Generation AI and PC Chips at CES, Highlights Major OpenAI Partnership 
Samsung Forecasts Strong Q4 Profit on AI-Driven Memory Chip Boom 
SMIC Shares Climb as China Boosts Chipmaking Support Amid AI Optimism 
xAI Cash Burn Highlights the High Cost of Competing in Generative AI 
BESI Reports Strong Q4-25 Orders Surge Driven by Data Center and Hybrid Bonding Demand 
Baidu’s AI Chip Unit Kunlunxin Prepares for Hong Kong IPO to Raise Up to $2 Billion 
EU Orders Elon Musk’s X to Preserve Grok AI Data Amid Probe Into Illegal Content 
FDA Limits Regulation of Wearable Devices and Wellness Software, Boosting Health Tech Industry 
Supreme Court to Hear Cisco Appeal on Alien Tort Statute and Human Rights Liability 
Under-display or in-screen solutions for parts like selfie cameras and fingerprint scanners are becoming more common these days. And a recently granted patent suggests Apple has plans to improve this technology that could potentially be used in future iterations of the Touch ID and Face ID.
The US Patent 11073712 (via Patently Apple) was granted to Apple on Tuesday titled “Electronic device display for through-display imaging.” In it, Apple said that the common solution of incorporating a display and image sensor “typically requires a large-area protective cover,” which then results in thicker bezels and larger phone housing.
Apple describes a more advanced solution that does not simply place imaging sensors below the display stack. The patent appears to be describing a solution that uses “through-display imaging” where the sensors are embedded into the display. The tech giant deems it would be useful for several purposes, such as “biometric imaging,” which includes fingerprint scanning and facial recognition.
Apple fans should not expect the technology being described in the patent to appear in any device soon. Patented inventions and technical solutions take years to materialize most of the time, and in many cases, they never even reach the consumers. However, this is a good indication that Apple is not just considering downsizing the iPhone notch. If any, the patent suggests that an Apple smartphone that is completely without a notch is possible.
Meanwhile, reports about an in-screen Touch ID have been in the rumor mill for some time now. What remains to be seen is if the tech described in the patent would be implemented sooner. A recent report from Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that the iPhone 14 series would include certain models that exclusively feature an in-screen Touch ID. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also reported that Apple has been testing under-display fingerprint scanning solutions on iPhones, but it is not expected to become available in the 2021 iPhones.
The Face ID that uses an embedded imaging sensor as described in the patent may be farther in the future, though. As mentioned, Apple is still in the long process of reducing the size of the display notch that houses the TrueDepth camera that is used for both taking selfies and biometric scanning for Face ID.
Photo by Yogesh Rahamatkar on Unsplash
