Rumor: Apple is working with LG on an iPhone with an ‘under-display’ camera

Apple is reportedly working with LG Innotek on an iPhone with a selfie camera that sits behind the panel, making it invisible when not in use. The company would like to release an iPhone with such a camera ‘after 2026’.

LG Innotek has started pre-development of an under-display camera for iPhones, writes The Elec. For this purpose, the company is reportedly working on a special lens module that should solve the current shortcomings of such a camera. By placing the camera behind the panel, less light is sent to the image sensor, which is at the expense of image quality and clarity.

LG’s Freeform Optic system has a special ‘curved’ shape, where the thickness of the sides of the lenses is adjustable. This should be able to ‘reduce the aberration of the optical system and the optical module’. This would prevent the photos from becoming blurry due to the shape of the lens. The lens system should also lead to ‘an improvement in the light ratio around the optical system and the optical module’, which should result in higher image quality.

The Elec writes that Apple has already rejected UDC copies from other companies because it was dissatisfied with the result. LG’s Display department is also said to be working on its own underdisplay camera system. That division reportedly wants to increase its light transmittance by forty percent ‘after 2024’.

The South Korean site writes that the first iPhone with such a camera is expected ‘after 2026’, but does not mention a specific year. However, analyst Ross Young from DSCC previously announced that Apple wants to provide the iPhone Pro with a selfie camera and Face ID module behind the screen in 2027, but that the standard iPhone that year will still have a hole for the camera.