There’s a case to be made for both matte and glossy displays. Glossy displays help make images pop and look more vivid. However, it’s terrible when it comes to reflections. That’s an area that matte displays excel in, and it’s why we were quite excited when we heard the rumors that Apple could introduce anti-reflective displays for the iPhone 17 Pro series.
Unfortunately, that is no longer happening.
iPhone 17 Pro skips anti-reflective display
According to MacRumors’ source, the publication was told that Apple will no longer bring anti-reflective displays to the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro models. We heard rumors about such a display dating back to 2024 by Instant Digital. They claimed that Apple will introduce a new anti-reflective display that is more scratch-resistant compared to the current Ceramic Shield.
However, the new report claims that Apple has run into issues scaling up the coating for the display. Apparently, it took longer than Apple would have liked. Given that Apple typically sells millions of phones per year, this could considerably slow down the entire manufacturing process. It is a pity that we won’t see this display arrive on the iPhone 17 Pro series.
Apple isn’t a stranger when it comes to anti-reflective displays. The company offers those options to its Mac and iPad Pro customers. This is actually considered an upgrade. For example, Apple’s Pro Display XDR with the nano-texture glass actually costs quite a bit more than the regular model.
So far, Apple includes a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on its iPhone models. However, this has more to do with fingerprints rather than reflections. However, Apple’s rival, Samsung, has something similar. The Galaxy S24 Ultra used the Gorilla Glass Armor display which can cut down on reflections by up to 75%.
We’re not sure if this setback means Apple plans to shelve the feature forever. If it skips the iPhone 17 series, it is always possible we could see it in the iPhone 18 series. We have no way of knowing for sure, so we’ll just have to keep our eyes peeled for more info.
