Apple moved the iPhone 18 Pro’s Face ID camera under the display this year to shrink the Dynamic Island, and that redesign is expected to come with a real trade-off. A matte screen protector can stop Face ID from working reliably on the new phones.
YouTuber Dave2D found the problem while reviewing the iPhone 18 Pro Max, tracing it back to the sensor’s new position beneath the screen’s top-left corner.
Why Matte Protectors Interfere With the New Face ID Camera
We covered news about how Apple pulled off the smaller Dynamic Island in an earlier teardown, moving the infrared camera underneath the OLED panel and thinning out the pixels above it so infrared light can pass through. That same light has to travel through anything placed on top of the screen too, and a matte or etched surface scatters the infrared pattern the camera needs to map a face accurately. A clear screen protector lets that light through with far less distortion, which is why Lee found no issue after switching to one.
The change also shrank the Dynamic Island cutout by roughly 25 percent, and it introduces a small new habit to learn. Covering that top-left corner with a finger while unlocking can cause Face ID to fail too, the same way covering the old TrueDepth camera notch always could.
Not Every Matte Protector Fails, and Apple Hasn’t Commented
The problem is not universal across every matte-branded protector. Some reviewers testing different matte finishes found no issue at all, while separate tests found privacy screen protectors, which use a different kind of filtering layer, reduced Face ID stability too. Apple has not published guidance calling out matte protectors specifically, though its existing advice to remove anything covering the camera when Face ID stops working still applies.
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At least one screen protector maker is already responding. Accessory company ZEERA said it is adjusting its iPhone 18 Pro matte glass designs after learning about the issue through its supply chain, according to its own reporting on the matter. Anyone shopping for a replacement in the meantime can start with our picks for the best iPhone 18 Pro screen protectors.
This is the first widely reported compatibility problem with Apple’s under-display Face ID system, though under-display sensors on Android phones have run into similar interference issues with certain screen protectors before.
