Thanks to a new lens, Apple's long-standing Face ID system may be upgraded on the iPhone 16 Pro, a DigiTimes report claims

Face ID, and the TrueDepth camera and selfie camera that make it possible, may be getting a “meta lens” on this year's iPhone 16 Pro model Meta lenses, for those who don't know, are ultra-thin flat lenses that use surface etching to manipulate the light that passes through them, rather than a curved surface structure like a regular lens

High-quality conventional lenses require multiple curved glass and plastic components, which can be bulky and heavy In the Face ID example, however, the three lenses currently needed to make the face recognition system work could theoretically be replaced with a single thinner and lighter meta-lens Besides, the use of a meta-lens would also allow for a smaller camera sensor underneath it without compromising image quality

A DigiTimes report details that the meta-lens that may be used in the iPhone 16 Pro may have been developed by Apple's component partners ViesEra and Asia Optical The use of metal lenses has been something Apple has been working on for some time, and the first application appears to have been the Face ID system on the iPad Pro [However, it is possible that Apple will delay the use of this new metal lens until next year We have previously heard that the metal lens will be used in next year's iPhone 17 series, followed by the Apple Glasses AR headset

We may not even see metal lenses used in iPhones for much longer, as it is believed that future iPhones will embed the Face ID system under the display This will result in a cleaner looking iPhone without a notch or cutout, but will require a redesign of related components

Whether or not Apple debuts its first meta-lens-equipped iPhone this year, there is no doubt that the iPhone 16 series will be announced this September at an Apple event iPhone 16 series, or iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 If you want to know more about the Pro Max, here's everything we know so far in our Rumors and News hub