The screen technology that the iPhone will adopt this year can help you save 99 yuan instantly.

In recent months, most front - page headlines have been dominated by leaks about the ultra - thin iPhone 17 Air model, while there has been far less news about the other models. Fortunately, this situation has finally changed.

According to a source who spoke to MacRumors, Apple has found an anti - reflective screen with qualified yield and production volume in the supply chain. It is expected that the two models in the iPhone 17 Pro series will be equipped with anti - reflective screens to enhance screen readability in high - brightness environments.

Image | PhoneArena

There were already signs of iPhone getting an anti - reflective screen as early as mid - 2024. It is rumored that this screen will be even more scratch - resistant than the current "Ceramic Shield". We are looking forward to seeing a more transparent screen on this year's Pro series.

What's even more remarkable is that once the anti - reflective screen is implemented, it will be one of the few features on the iPhone in recent years that can make it stand out from domestic phones. It's really worth looking forward to.

What Can Anti - Reflection Bring to Us

In recent years, the keyword "anti - reflective screen" is often associated with another manufacturer: Samsung.

Through close cooperation with Corning, Samsung first installed a glass called "Corning Gorilla Armor" on the S24 Ultra. By combining the anti - reflective coating on the surface with the underlying glass - ceramic substrate during production, the reflectivity of the S24 Ultra was reduced by 75% compared to its predecessor.

Image | Reddit

Compared with the traditional method of spraying and curing an anti - reflective coating on a pre - made glass substrate, the technology developed by Samsung and Corning has an advantage. By adding a special base layer during the production process, it helps the coating adhere better and is more scratch - resistant than post - production spraying.

Image | YouTube @Samsung

However, Samsung's "anti - reflective coating approach" seems a bit too advanced to gain wide acceptance. Domestic phone manufacturers, which are good at quickly organizing the supply chain and achieving technological breakthroughs, have not followed this anti - reflective technology. In the flagship phones of recent years, we can hardly see any anti - reflection - related promotions.

This may be because in China, an AR film is readily available. The anti - reflective technology jointly developed by Samsung and Qualcomm at a cost of tens of millions of dollars can be easily obtained for just a few dozen yuan (achieving about 80 - 90% of the effect).

But if you think that anti - reflection is not a high - tech technology, you are wrong. To improve the visual experience on the screen, which is like a "window to the soul", and reduce reflections that affect users, various technical solutions have been in practice for more than a decade.

Micro - structure Scattering (AG)

Scattering is undoubtedly the simplest and most long - standing anti - reflection method. By directly dispersing the reflected light waves, it reduces the amount of reflected light that enters our eyes.

This technology is the well - known anti - glare (AG) glass process. Its principle is to create uneven micro - structures on the glass surface. When light is reflected, the waves are scattered in all directions, preventing them from forming parallel light or constructive interference, thus reducing the reflected light that our eyes can perceive.

Image | Anders Electronics

The industry applications of the AG process include various frosted films and matte displays.

However, compared with AR coating, the AG process does not fundamentally "reduce" the amount of reflection. It only deflects the reflected light from the direction of our eyes, and the deflected light will continue to be reflected and scattered inside the glass.

This is why on matte displays, the light is eventually scattered into a halo:

Image | AtulHost

In addition, the effect of the AG process is directly related to the degree of surface unevenness. Those who have used the early matte - screen MacBook Pro or often applied frosted films know that the frosted effect of the AG process can affect the screen's display quality. Especially when there is oil on the screen or film, a prism - like dispersion effect will appear, which is very unappealing.

Nano - scale Etching Scattering

Nano - scale etching scattering can be regarded as an improved AG process. Its representative product is the nano - texture glass used by Apple on the Pro Display XDR and the latest generation of iMac:

Image | Apple's official website

The main problem that this improved AG process aims to solve is the impact of the scattering structure on the screen's display quality. By reducing the surface scattering structure to the nano - scale, the nano - texture glass can disperse the reflected light while being smaller than the pixels on the screen, thus achieving a good balance between scattering and light transmission.

Regular glass (left) and nano - texture glass (right) | MacRumors

However, the problem with this improved process is that the exposed nano - texture glass has much lower durability than ordinary frosted glass. Whether it's Apple's Pro Display XDR or some high - end TVs using similar technology, special protection measures for the panel are always emphasized.

This is why when Apple sells the Pro Display XDR with nano - glass, it also includes a polishing cloth. Don't lose it, as it costs $145 if you buy it separately!

Interference Light Coating (AR)

However, compared with the AG frosted glass that affects image quality and the fragile nano - texture glass, what a phone screen needs is to reduce reflections while ensuring display quality and durability.

This technology that can balance image quality and durability is AR coating.

This is currently the most widely used anti - reflection (AR) technology. Apple has been using it on the screens of MacBooks for many years. The technology developed by Samsung and Corning is essentially an improved AR coating solution, which improves the firmness of the coating by adjusting the glass production process.

As the name suggests, the principle of interference light coating to eliminate reflection is destructive interference. Due to the thickness of the glass, when light hits the screen, it is reflected twice on the upper and lower surfaces of the glass. These two reflected light waves enter our eyes, creating the reflection we see on the screen.

By precisely controlling the thickness of the anti - reflective coating on the glass and using multiple layers of coatings to reflect light of different wavelengths, a phase difference of approximately half a wavelength can be created between the light waves reflected from the upper and lower surfaces of the screen. This causes destructive interference between the two reflected light waves, significantly reducing the amount of reflected light that finally enters our eyes.

In other words, the physical principle behind the AR film is basically the same as that of "active noise - canceling headphones": creating a phase difference to make waves cancel each other out.

Considering Apple's close relationship with Samsung Display and the feedback since the launch of the nano - texture glass, the iPhone 17 Pro series will most likely use a similar solution that combines AR coating with a glass substrate.

Although domestic Android brands have not followed Samsung's screen AR effect, many brands now offer light - curing AR film pasting services in their offline stores. The price is generally 99 yuan per film (sometimes there are packages of multiple films for about 199 yuan).

— Although the price is higher than the ubiquitous "nine - yuan - nine" films, if you often use your phone outdoors, in high - light, or complex light environments and really need AR, the 99 - yuan AR film has a good effect.

In summary, we have currently seen four solutions to solve screen glare and reflection:

The AG process that disperses reflected light at the cost of sacrificing display quality

The improved nano - texture glass that does not affect image quality but sacrifices durability

The AR coating that balances display quality and durability but has a high unit price

The Samsung - Corning anti - reflective glass, which is an improvement on the AR coating process

Although only Samsung's S24 and S25 Ultra flagship phones have adopted the latest anti - reflective technology so far, Apple's follow - up largely indicates the maturity of the supply - chain solution, and it is more likely that domestic brands will follow suit.

Anti - glare Screens Should Become Standard on Future Flagship Phones

Ultimately, the anti - glare and anti - reflection capabilities of the screen are an indispensable part of the display and interaction process.

The anti - glare process used in Samsung's S95D TV | Digital Trends

The "screen" is now the main way we interact with most technological products, and every aspect of the screen affects how we use these products.

From LCD to OLED, from 60Hz to 360Hz, and from low - brightness screens that are hard to see to screens with a peak brightness close to 3000 nits, every iteration of display technology has evolved from "similar effect" to "hard to go back after using".

The next iteration of display technology should be the anti - reflection ability of the screen. After all, as the marginal effect of various parameters is diminishing, a screen with excellent anti - reflection performance is one of the few improvements that you can clearly see the difference at a glance:

Image | Sam Lover

Based on this, we have reason to believe that in the next one or two years, anti - reflective screens should become standard on flagship phones of any manufacturer that pursues high - quality screen display.

This article is from the WeChat official account "ifanr". The author is the one who discovers tomorrow's products. It is published by 36Kr with permission.