Apple reduced their TrueDepth camera notch for iPhone 13 by about 20%. Apple may continue to reduce the size of the notch for next-gen iPhones or adopt a punch hole design. On another front, Apple may want to reduce the bezel of a future MacBook or iMac and by doing so will have to use a new camera system that could be positioned in the active display area. Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that covers this very system titled "Reducing Border Width Around a Hole in Display Active Area."

Apple's patent covers an electronic device that may include a display having an array of display pixels formed in an active area of the display. One or more inactive regions may be formed in the active area. The inactive region may be a through hole, optical window (camera window) or other types of opening within the display that is devoid of pixels.

Apple notes that their invention can be used with a MacBook, iPhone, iPad, iMac, a standalone monitor, Apple Watch, a future HMD and more.

Apple was granted a series of design patents for a MacBook with ultra-thin bezels last summer and to support such a design, the camera would have to be situated in the active display are as today's patent presents. Our cover graphic illustrates Apple's MacBook design patent.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 below is a top plan view of display circuitry showing how multi-row single-sided gate driver circuits may be configured to drive corresponding gate lines that are merged prior to being routed around a hole in a display active area.  

Apple's patent FIG. 4A above is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative through hole that can be formed in the display active area; FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative optical window that can be formed in the display active area in accordance with an embodiment.

This is a highly technical patent that display engineers would enjoy. For more details see patent application 20210305350.

Considering that this is a patent application, the timing of such a product to market is unknown at this time.