iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors.

iphone 16 display
Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard anything else about an upgraded display coating since then, and it's sounding like that's because it didn't work out.

Apple planned to use the anti-reflective coating for the higher-end ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ and the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max models, which would have made them the first iPhones with an anti-reflective display. Apple ran into problems scaling up the display coating process, and it is currently no longer a planned feature for the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models.

The process for adding the anti-reflective coating to the iPhone display was too slow when taking into account the millions of devices that Apple produces, so even though it was only planned for the Pro models, it still seems that it wasn't feasible this year.

Current ‌iPhone‌ models have a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating, but Apple hasn't focused heavily on anti-reflective technology. For the Mac and iPad Pro, Apple offers a nano-texture display that cuts down on glare, but that's not something that has been expanded to the ‌iPhone‌. It's possible Apple pivoted to nano-texture or a simpler coating, but it's also possible it's just been scrapped entirely for now.

With the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Samsung debuted a Gorilla Glass Armor display panel, which cuts down on reflections by up to 75 percent. The technology improves contrast in bright lighting conditions and makes colors seem more true to life even in the sun or in rooms with bright lights.

iphone 15 galaxy s24 ultra corning glass

Anti-reflection properties of Galaxy S24 Ultra (bottom) vs. ‌iPhone‌ 15 (Image: IceUniverse)

If the iPhone 17 models don't end up with the planned anti-reflective display properties, Apple could introduce the display improvement in a future ‌iPhone‌ as the manufacturing process improves.

Related Roundups: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro
Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

MAlbi Avatar
8 months ago
How about releasing iphone 17 and promise the coating is coming soon ?
Score: 84 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JamesMcFlyJR Avatar
8 months ago
man this would have been one of my biggest upgrades.

samsung has done anti-reflective screens since the S24 Ultra. Almost 2 years when the iPhone 17 launches.

disappointing that apple couldn't figure it out
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
UpsetTheAppleCart Avatar
8 months ago
Improved scratch resistance would be much appreciated.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TechWhisperer Avatar
8 months ago
Apple is probably busy with building new fax machines. Lol.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KPOM Avatar
8 months ago
That’s too bad. The nano-texture iPad is great and I’d like a similar feature on the iPhone.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mjschabow Avatar
8 months ago
The displays are totally worth it. Had really bad micro-scratches on my last two iPhones but my S25 Ultra is 3 months in with zero blemishes.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)