Last year, there was chatter regarding Apple adopting a scratch-resistant anti-reflective display coating on its upcoming iPhone 17 Pro models. Now, a fresh report reveals Apple has canceled its plan due to issues scaling up the display coating process. While Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra come with anti-glare screen coatings, it looks like Apple is not ready yet. So, this gives Samsung an advantage, at least for now.
iPhone 17 Pro misses key display upgrade, Samsung keeps the lead
Apple’s iPhone 17 series is just a few months away from its debut. All four iPhones could be unveiled at the usual fall event. But there’s bad news for Apple fans who were expecting the company to use an anti-reflective display coating on its Pro models, similar to what Samsung offers.
MacRumors reports that Apple had trouble scaling up the display coating process. As a result, the company is currently no longer planning to include it as a feature for the iPhone 17 Pro models.
Back in 2020, Apple teamed up with Corning to develop its Ceramic Shield, a glass-ceramic material. The company first adopted this feature on the iPhone 12, advertising it as four times better at surviving drops compared to the iPhone 11. And with the newly released iPhone 16e, it said that its Ceramic Shield is “tougher than any smartphone glass.”
Meanwhile, Samsung used Corning’s Gorilla Armor protection for the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Samsung claimed, “With up to a 75% reduction in reflectance compared to typical glass surfaces, it enhances display readability and minimizes screen reflections in almost any environment”. The latest Galaxy S25 Ultra now uses the next generation of display protection called Corning Gorilla Armor 2, which includes the same anti-reflective coating.
iPhone 15 and Galaxy S24 Ultra (Credits: Ice Universe)
Nowadays, premium smartphones allow users to experience everything from gaming to watching HDR content. But the lack of an anti-reflective screen creates a big issue, mainly when people use their phone outdoors. So it’s important that the screen is clear even in sunlight. It’s good to see that Samsung is already fixing this problem on its flagship models by implementing an anti-reflective display coating.
