The IPhone 17 Series Might Not Copy This Excellent S25 Ultra Feature After All
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Apple has reportedly canceled a scratch-resistant anti-reflective display coating for the iPhone 17 Pro range.
- It’s believed Apple ran into issues scaling the production process for this coating.
- Samsung’s last two Ultra phones both offer anti-glare screen coatings.
Apple is widely expected to launch the iPhone 17 series later this year, and there’s been no shortage of rumors to date. However, a new leak suggests that one of the Galaxy S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra‘s best features won’t come to the new iPhone after all.
MacRumors reports that Apple has canceled a scratch-resistant anti-reflective screen coating for the iPhone 17 Pro series, citing a “source with reliable information.” The outlet reports that Apple canceled this coating as it apparently ran into problems scaling the production process. This follows a Weibo tipster’s claim last year that the iPhone 17 series would have an anti-reflective coating.
The news comes over a year after Samsung adopted Corning’s Gorilla Armor protection for the Galaxy S24 Ultra. This protective glass solution includes an anti-reflective coating that reduces glare by a claimed 75% compared to regular glass. The Galaxy S25 Ultra was then released in January with Gorilla Armor 2 protection, which retains this anti-reflective coating. The image at the top of the page shows the S24 Ultra screen (right) compared to the iPhone 15 Pro display.
An Android-exclusive feature for now
In saying so, many Galaxy S24 Ultra owners reported that their phone’s oleophobic display coating wore off in under a year. An Android Authority poll revealed that just over 30% of respondents have experienced major wear issues with their S24 Ultra’s screen coating. That’s a real shame in light of the underlying Gorilla Armor protection. So our fingers are crossed that Samsung addressed this problem with the S25 Ultra.
Samsung isn’t the only Android smartphone brand offering anti-glare displays, either. The 1TB version of the Iqoo 13 flagship offers so-called Crystal Optical Glass to reduce reflections and glare. Meanwhile, TCL offers NXTPAPER phones and tablets with an integrated matte display, although this has generally come at the expense of screen brightness.
In any event, iPhone fans wanting a glare-free screen will presumably need to wait until the iPhone 18 series in 2026. The company is also expected to launch its first foldable next year, following in Android’s footsteps once again.
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