Apple’s plans for a more durable display on the iPhone 17 have reportedly been abandoned.
Plans for an anti-reflective, scratch-resistant display on the iPhone 17 have seemingly been abandoned, according to an anonymous source.
Apple often promotes the durability and hardness of the iPhone screen. With the release of the iPhone 16e, for instance, Apple said that its Ceramic Shield front was “tougher than any smartphone glass,” and the company’s claims have often been backed up by independent testing.
The iPhone 17 range was likely meant to continue this trend, as in March 2024, leaker “Instant Digital” claimed a new display coating was in the works. At the time, it was said the coating would allow for better scratch resistance and improved anti-reflective properties.
Now, a report from MacRumors, which cites an anonymous source with reliable information, claims Apple has scrapped the feature entirely. Supposedly, Apple wanted to use the new anti-reflective coating for the iPhone 17 Pro, but ran into scaling issues, as the coating application process was “too slow” for reliable mass production.
Apple has offered anti-reflective display options in the past, though they’ve typically only been available for iPad and Mac. Pre-2013 unibody MacBook Pros could be optioned with a high-resolution matte display, and an arguably similar nano-texture screen option is available for the current M4 MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and iMac.
It’s possible the company wanted to offer an anti-reflective display coating for the iPhone, but given Apple’s marketing efforts and patents, the enhanced durability would have been the primary focus.
In 2020, with the iPhone 12 lineup, Apple introduced Ceramic Shield. It was developed in partnership with Corning, which also created the Gorilla Glass Armor used on the Samsung S24 Ultra.
Apple has also periodically funded Corning’s research. Most recently, it gave the company $45 million in 2021, but that follows previous investments totaling approximately $850 million since 2017.
It remains to be seen whether or not the iPhone 17 range will incorporate new durability-enhancing technology, or if the idea has indeed been abandoned. Apple sometimes scraps iPhone features mid-development, and there have been no recent reports of a scratch-resistant iPhone 17 display.
The source of this latest iPhone 17 display information is unknown, but it is plausible. So, we’ve given this rumor the “Possible” score.
