Apple will be announced their 2022 iPhone lineup next week and rumors are swirling as hard as ever leading up to the announcement. One rumor surrounding the redesigned “notch” in the display is that the two cutouts will appear as one using unlit pixels from the display. The software would control when the pixels between the cutouts are illuminated or just turned off.
This is according to an anonymous source as reported to MacRumors with corroborating rumors circulating on Chinese social media. The rumor is said to have originated from Foxconn employees who are involved in the iPhone 14 Pro’s production.
A corroborating report from 9to5Mac came soon after that claims this areas between the cutouts will also be reserved for displaying Apple’s privacy indicators, which arrived with iOS 14. It shows when the microphone or video cameras are actively being used by an app on the device. This could free up the corners of the display to fit more status icons.
According to 9to5Mac‘s source, the camera app is also expected to have an updated layout that moves some of the controls to the top of the screen. Specifically, the flash and Live Photo button will be right up in the status bar with other settings positioned right below the cutouts.
Mockup by 9to5Mac
This expanded cutout could later show pixels such as when watching videos or receiving notifications. This would be a less distracting solution for viewing content than the notch and would still have hardware necessary for Apple’s Face ID biometric solution.
The rumor shouldn’t be taken as truth, which will be confirmed next week during Apple’s livestream event. Apple will release four new iPhone models consisting of two 6.1-inch iPhones and two 6.7-inch larger iPhones. There will be no “mini” iPhone this year.
