Stunning iPhone 12 video shows off the second screen we really want

The official iPhone 12 reveal is right around the corner, and while we have a pretty good idea of what the new iPhone might look like, it’s always fun to fantasize. That’s been the case with the cavalcade of concept videos we’ve seen as of late, each exploring different designs Apple could potentially pursue for its next iPhone. They’re so slick, so nuanced, several of them are actually quite believable.

The latest video to add to the legions of cool and inventive concepts throws everything you might be expecting out of the window for a truly fantastic twist on what we think we know about cameras and displays. YouTuber Furkan Kasap has come up with an entirely futuristic iPhone 12 concept that takes a decidedly different path from the fan-made iPhone 12 “trailers” we’ve seen thus far.

The video is only about a minute long, though it uses every single second of its runtime to show us what could be if Apple ever decides to shatter our perceptions of its current phones. As the clip begins by zooming in on the phone, it isn’t the front of the device that takes the spotlight — it’s the back, where we’d expect the camera array to be. There are a series of cameras there, but also what appears to be a secondary display covering them.

The displays appear modular, mimicking what we could see on an Apple Watch and split into four quadrants that can be set up to display various portions of a screen, with certain areas showing a musical streaming service, one showing the time, and eventually the entire display giving way to showing alerts and time, depending on users’ preferences.

Much like the Smart Stack widget Apple is introducing as part of iOS 14 this fall, this look would be perfect for showing instant notifications in a smaller area instead of the phone’s screen.

Though it’s practically something of a pastime these days to speculate about what Apple might have in store for the iPhone 12, there’s still a lot we don’t know. Rumors have insinuated that there's likely to be four different iPhone 12 models, all with OLED screens and 5G connectivity. The iPhone 12 Pro models will likely gain an additional camera lens — potentially an LiDAR sensor — along with screens that support faster refresh rates.

One thing we don't see on the iPhone 12: a secondary display like the one in this concept video. Still, it's fun to think about what would happen if Apple ever went down the path Kasap has outlined here.