The iPhone X’s controversial notch could get a lot smaller next year.
According to the latest rumor out of Asia, Apple’s suppliers are supposedly in the early stages of a solution that could shrink the notch by combing Face ID with the iPhone’s front-facing camera.
Apple’s decision to make an edge-to-edge display with a notch at the top for cameras and other sensors was skewered by some fans after its unveiling. With Face ID replacing Touch ID, the notch is most likely coming to other Apple devices too, but future versions might not be quite as big.
Korea’s ETNews reports that Apple is “looking into a combination of a face recognition module with a camera module.” The report says the move is part of Apple’s effort to strengthen Face ID’s functionality.
Face ID is powered by an infrared camera, dot projector and few other little things. It’s unclear how Apple would move some of Face ID’s tasks over to the regular camera, or if that’s even possible.
The dubious report claims the smaller notch isn’t supposed to come out until 2019, so take the news with a healthy serving of salt for now.
