Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) founder and CEO Russ Young published a roadmap back in April 2023 that called for the iPhone 17 Pro series to be released with under-display Face ID by 2025. The hope was that by moving Face ID under the display, bezels could be made even thinner. By 2027, the iPhone 19 Pro series could have no cutouts on the display and feature an all-screen design (more on that later).
This past May, Young responded to a question on “X” by stating that he had heard that Apple was pushing the under-display design for Face ID back to 2026 when it would debut on the iPhone 18 Pro models. So it seemed strange when Ross posted a tweet on Thursday, September 19th, stating that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will have under-display Face ID.
Young tweets that he no longer expects iPhone 17 Pro models to have under-display Face ID. | Image credit-Ross Young
On Friday, Young admitted that the tweet he posted the day before was sent by mistake. He deleted the Thursday tweet and reversed himself in a tweet dated Friday that said that under-display Face ID is “No longer expected on the iPhone 17…You should come to our event on 10/2 in Silicon Valley to get the latest roadmaps for Apple and other brands.” It should be pointed out that Ross has a track record that most leakers are envious of.
Original Ross Young roadmap starts on the left with the iPhone 13 series and ends on the right with the iPhone 19 line. | Image credit-Ross Young
As an example of Ross Young’s amazing history using supply chain data to make accurate calls, he had correctly forecast well in advance Apple’s decision to hike the iPhone 16 Pro screen size from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches while taking the size of the iPhone 16 Pro Max display from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches. As noted in the first paragraph, by the time the iPhone 19 Pro and iPhone 19 Pro Max are released in 2027, both models could feature both an under-display Face ID and an under-display front-facing camera.
By moving all cameras under the screen, the iPhone 19 Pro and iPhone 19 Pro Max could sport a radical new all-screen design. But by adding the Camera Control button to all iPhone 16 models this year, Apple is essentially saying that the dream of the iPhone as a simple glass slab sans any buttons or ports is just not going to happen so soon even if Apple pulls off the all-screen design by 2027.