Well, it seems that Apple is trying to get rid of the notch for real this time. A patent filed back on April 5, 2019, reveals that not only the notch may disappear from future iPhones, but we may also see bezels get smaller in future Apple devices.

The guys over at Apple Insider found a newly released patent that suggests that Apple is constantly working to find a way to move sensors away from the bezels and into the screen itself. This would eventually lead to a future iPhone with an edge to edge display, and other devices such as iPads, iMac, and MacBooks with tiny bezels, meaning that Apple could give its users bigger displays without having to increase the size of a device.

The patent application describes a “Sensing System for Detection of Light Incident to a Light Emitting Layer of an Electronic Device Display,” which basically consists about placing the detector within an active area of a Display. Apple also explains that “an electronic device can include a display formed from a stack of functional and structural layers (a ‘display stack’) attached to, or otherwise disposed below, a protective outer cover,” when referring to the top of the device which would also include the bezels.

“An electronic device can also include a light sensing system, such as an ambient light sensor. Typically, a light sensing system is positioned below the protective outer cover, adjacent to, and separated from, a light emitting region of the display stack.
“The individual light sensors of the light sensing system coupled to the controller are disposed or formed directly onto one or more layers of the display stack that defines the active display area.
“As a result of this construction, the light sensing system may be able to detect light incident to the active display area, even if one or more of the groups of individual light sensors is occluded or covered by a user.”

It’s not clear how this may work or if it ever does, but looking at it from a positive point of view, we can say that Apple may not be so proud of its notch after all, and it’s continuously looking for ways to get rid of it. Unfortunately, the full-sized notch will still be present in the upcoming iPhone 12 lineup, but we may see it get smaller starting next year with the arrival of the iPhone 13.

Source Apple Insider