Apple Working on Rear-Facing 3D Sensor for Advanced AR Experiences on 2019 iPhone

Just more than a week ago, Apple started shipping the company’s next-gen iPhone: the iPhone X. With the iPhone X, Apple introduced a new TrueDepth camera on the front of the device, which powers new experiences like Face ID and Animojis on the $999 iPhone.

Apple’s TrueDepth system uses 30,000 laser dots to effectively create a depth map of the user’s face for features like Face ID that’s used to unlock the device and authenticate on things like Apple Pay and the App Store. The TrueDepth tech is expected to stay in future iPhone devices, but Apple is apparently working on a new 3D sensor for the 2019 iPhone. Bloomberg reports that the 2019 iPhone will feature a 3D sensor on the back of the device, which will be used to power advanced augmented reality experiences.

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Apple’s ARKit on the iPhone X and older iPhone devices is already capable of providing rich AR experiences, but the accuracy is far from perfect. The upcoming 3D sensor would potentially allow Apple to tackle this issue, as it uses an advanced laser-based system which basically builds a depth map of the surrounding environment by calculating the time it takes for a laser fired by the sensor to bounce off objects in the environment. The tech is obviously a lot more complicated than that, and it might even get cancelled as Cupertino is in the very early stages of planning at the moment.

For next year’s iPhones, Apple is believed to be bringing the iPhone X’s bezel-less design to all the three different models of the iPhone. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently reported that Apple is working on a 6.5-inch, a 6.1-inch, and a 5.8-inch iPhone for next year. All of these devices will have the iPhone X’s TrueDepth camera system, and Face ID. Not all the variants will be joining the OLED bandwagon, though — Apple’s still going to be using a TFT LCD panel for the 6.1-inch variant of next year’s iPhone lineup, but it will cost significantly lower than this year’s iPhone X. Apple’s implementation of the TrueDepth camera system and Face ID has been widely praised, so bringing it to all variants of the iPhone X is a no-brainer. I love the seamlessness and performance of Face ID on the iPhone X, so I’ll certainly be looking forward to Face ID 2.0 on next year’s iPhones.

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Conversation 6 comments

  • carlluna2001

    14 November, 2017 - 4:19 pm

    <p>Apple wants to take the shortcut of Microsoft vision.</p>

  • gvan

    14 November, 2017 - 7:06 pm

    <p>I don't want Face ID! I want an iPhone with Touch ID on the back and a solid gold toilet seat. I don't think I'm getting either of these things. So I'm probably going to buy an iPhone 8 if they ship a red one in March like they did last year.</p><p><br></p><p>Have there been any roumours of new iPhone 8 colors???</p>

  • davidblouin

    14 November, 2017 - 7:24 pm

    <p>I remember when Paul use to make fun of blogs reporting on every single rumours about the next iPhone and wonder what happen ?</p><p><br></p><p>Come to think of it i remember Paul making fun of blogs who hyped every high end high prices smartphones too …</p>

    • PincasX

      15 November, 2017 - 11:31 am

      <blockquote><a href="#216394"><em>In reply to davidblouin:</em></a></blockquote><p>Right? For a blog that bills itself as "News, Reviews and Analysis" it does a lot of just slapping up widely reported rumors and condensed versions of new product press releases. It's kinda laughable that there is an attempt to change people for premium content when there is little original content at all. </p>

  • Bats

    14 November, 2017 - 8:34 pm

    <p>Apple is working on a 6.5 inch iPhones? YES!!! YES!!! That means my Pixel 3 XL is going to 6.6 inches!!!</p>

  • HellcatM

    15 November, 2017 - 8:54 am

    <p>Ooh, apple people will be able to play an advanced version of Pokemon Go. Have fun with that.</p>

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC