A fresh Apple supply chain report has revealed that Apple’s hotly-anticipated Face ID overhaul and a move to an under-display camera could still be on the cards for the iPhone 16 after the company pulled the plug on orders for the components of its current biometric configuration. 

In 2022, reports suggested that the iPhone 16 would feature under-display Face ID. However, the source of that report, top insider Ross Young, withdrew the initial rumor in 2023 with a revised roadmap pointing to the change coming with the iPhone 17 in 2025 instead. Now, reports of a British microchip plant facing closure have reopened the possibility of the change coming this year instead. 

iPhone 16’s under-display Face ID 

As reported by The Telegraph, a 310,000 sq ft chip facility in County Durham, UK, is facing closure after Apple “pulled the plug” on a “lucrative” supply deal. According to owner Coherent, its primary customer, purported to be Apple, ceased orders at the end of FY 2023. The plant has already laid off 100 staff, with 257 kept on to fulfill its remaining contracts. The news is interesting for iPhone customers because it points to a major change coming to Face ID this year. According to The Telegraph, “the plant manufactures components for Apple that feature in the iPhone’s Face ID recognition system, but that the US giant is believed to have ceased orders due to upcoming changes to the next version of the iPhone.”