Samsung is reportedly developing a holographic smartphone display that could be used in a “space iPhone.”
The claims come from the leaker known as “Schrödinger” on X, who shared screenshots of messages with an anonymous insider allegedly familiar with the project. Sources have apparently heard discussions of a “space iPhone” in the supply chain, although no credible details on this have yet been revealed. Since Apple doesn’t make its own displays, such a device would likely rely on other manufacturers like Samsung, which already supplies OLED panels for the iPhone line.
Codenamed “MH1” or “H1,” the rumored display differs from previous glasses-free 3D displays by combining advanced eye tracking with diffractive beam steering, a technique that uses microscopic structures in the display layer to bend and redirect light toward the viewer’s eyes at precise angles, creating depth perception without additional glasses. The display would also incorporate a nanostructured holographic layer embedded directly into the AMOLED stack, enabling spatial depth effects that appear to float above the glass surface. A patented algorithm would allow users to tilt the device to see around objects in a video, which the leaker described as “360-degree rotation,” similar in concept to Samsung’s existing 85-inch space displays but adapted for portable use.
Samsung’s Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) has been publishing academic work on thin-screen holography since 2020, when it published a paper in 2020. Natural communications detailing a steering backlight unit that increases viewing angles for holographic video by 30 times compared to conventional designs, a major obstacle to the viability of the technology in a slim portable device. The prototype described at the time was about 1 cm thick and capable of displaying 4K holographic video at 30 frames per second.
The H1 display will also retain full 4K resolution for standard 2D tasks, with the holographic depth layer only activating for specific content, in what the leaker calls “Zero Loss of Clarity”, avoiding the image quality compromise associated with older lenticular lens 3D displays. In a follow-up post, Schrödinger noted that the MH1 project remains in Phase 1 of R&D, with the leaker pointing to a rough timeline of 2030 for holographic smartphones in general.
The reports also state that “Samsung is not alone” in wanting to ship a holographic smartphone, and cite supply chain rumors about an Apple “space iPhone” circulating among component suppliers. Samsung’s advantage apparently lies in its manufacturing lead, with research published by SAIT forming the basis for what the H1 would attempt to produce.
Apple’s interest in holographic, glasses-free 3D display technology dates back nearly two decades. In 2008, Apple filed a patent application for a glasses-free autostereoscopic display that tracked the viewer’s position to provide a personalized 3D image without special glasses, with Apple claiming the system could accommodate multiple viewers simultaneously. In 2014, Apple was rumored to be developing a glasses-free 3D iPhone display, the same year the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple a patent for an “interactive holographic display device” that used laser beams, microlenses, and sensors to produce three-dimensional images on a touchscreen.
Of course, none of these efforts resulted in an iPhone with a holographic display, but Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering and future CEO John Ternus said as recently as last month that the combination of the digital and physical world was an “inevitability,” describing spatial computing as being in its “infancy.”
Schrödinger is a relatively new account with a limited but significant history on Samsung hardware. The leaker has shared what appear to be internal documents and prototypes in the past. Some predictions came true: in November 2025, Schrödinger took the time to test a prototype of the Galaxy S26 Plus, accurately revealing its Exynos 2600 chipset, 12GB of RAM, and One UI 8.5 software, all of which were confirmed at its launch in February. The account also correctly revealed device details such as 60W wired charging and 25W wireless charging for the Galaxy S26 Ultra ahead of its announcement.