Kuo: Apple is set to ditch the notch, go hole-punch for 2022 iPhones

iPhone XR notch
iPhone XR notch (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple will reportedly ship an iPhone with a hole-punch display in 2022.
  • Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the notch will be ditched in a future iPhone.

Some of the 2022 iPhones will ship without a notch, instead shipping with a hole-punch display for the first time. That's according to a new report by well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a new research note seen by iMore, Kuo said that at least some of the 2022 iPhones will feature a hole-punch display setup that is similar to what Samsung already offers in its own flagship devices.

Samsung Galaxy S

Samsung Galaxy S (Image credit: Samsung)

Kuo believes that we can expect the high-end 2022 iPhones to see the end of Face ID, although it's possible that all iPhones will go the same way if Samsung's display panel yields are sufficient to make that possible.

On the subject of the cameras that will sit inside that hole-punch screen, Kuo believes that we can look forward to autofocus making an appearance as well.

This will all come too late for iPhone 13, a device that we expect to launch in or around September this year. We've been hearing suggestions that this year's device will actually be an iPhone 12s model instead – something that makes a ton of sense if Apple will be introducing a new screen with the 2022 iPhone. Apple could easily then call that iPhone 13.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.