Apple placed the iPhone Duo‘s under-display camera near the center of its inner screen rather than in the top-right corner, and a new claim suggests engineering constraints are responsible.
Weibo account Instant Digital says technical difficulties prevented Apple from putting the hidden camera in the corner on the first-generation Duo and that the next model could move it there, aligning it more closely with the camera on the outer display.
The current arrangement creates an obvious difference between the Duo’s two displays. When the phone is closed, the front-facing camera sits near the top-right corner of the outer screen. Open it, and the under-display camera sits much closer to the center.
That difference is most relevant during FaceTime calls. On the 7.6-inch inner display, looking at the person on screen can pull your eyes farther away from the camera, making eye contact appear less natural.
There may also be a practical reason Apple couldn’t simply move the sensor into the corner. The rear camera array already occupies the upper portion of the device, leaving less internal space in an area that would also need to accommodate the hidden front camera.
Under-display cameras bring their own packaging constraints. The sensor has to sit behind a section of the screen that lets enough light through for photography and video while remaining visually consistent with the surrounding display.
Moving the inner camera toward the top-right corner would bring its position closer to the outer camera and could improve eye alignment during video calls.
It would also preserve one of the main benefits of Apple’s under-display approach: keeping the 7.6-inch folding screen free of a visible camera cutout.
For now, the Duo ships with its two front cameras in noticeably different positions, a compromise Apple may address with the second generation.
Apple announced the iPhone Duo on September 9. Preorders are now open, with availability beginning September 18.
