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Apple Reportedly Working on 3D Sensor System for Rear Camera in 2019 iPhones
Apple is developing 3D depth sensing technology for the rear-facing cameras in its 2019 iPhones, according to a new report by Bloomberg on Tuesday. The 3D sensor system will be different to the one found in the iPhone X's front-facing camera, and is said to be the next big step in turning the smartphone into a leading augmented reality device.
With the release of iOS 11, Apple introduced the ARKit software framework that allows iPhone developers to build augmented reality experiences into their apps. The addition of a rear-facing 3D sensor could theoretically increase the ability for virtual objects to interact with environments and enhance the illusion of solidity.
Apple was reportedly beset with production problems when making the sensor in the iPhone X's front-facing camera, because the components used in the sensor array have to be assembled with a very high degree of accuracy. According to Bloomberg, while the time-of-flight technology uses a more advanced image sensor than the existing one in the iPhone X, it does not require the same level of precision during assembly. That fact alone could make a rear-facing 3D sensor easier to produce at high volume.
Late last month, oft-reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that Apple is unlikely to expand its front-facing 3D sensing system to the rear-facing camera module on iPhones released in 2018. Kuo said the iPhone X's 3D sensing capabilities are already at least one year ahead of Android smartphones, therefore he believes Apple's focus with next year's iPhone models will be ensuring an on-time launch with adequate supply.
Apple is evaluating a different technology from the one it currently uses in the TrueDepth sensor system on the front of the iPhone X, the people said. The existing system relies on a structured-light technique that projects a pattern of 30,000 laser dots onto a user's face and measures the distortion to generate an accurate 3D image for authentication. The planned rear-facing sensor would instead use a time-of-flight approach that calculates the time it takes for a laser to bounce off surrounding objects to create a three-dimensional picture of the environment.The existing TrueDepth camera would continue to be used in the front-facing camera of future iPhones in order to power Face ID, while the new system would bring the more advanced "time-of-flight" 3D sensing capability to the rear camera, according to the sources cited. Discussions with manufacturers are reportedly already underway, and include Infineon, Sony, STMicroelectronics, and Panasonic. Testing is said to be still in the early stages, and could end up not being used in the phones at all.
With the release of iOS 11, Apple introduced the ARKit software framework that allows iPhone developers to build augmented reality experiences into their apps. The addition of a rear-facing 3D sensor could theoretically increase the ability for virtual objects to interact with environments and enhance the illusion of solidity.
Apple was reportedly beset with production problems when making the sensor in the iPhone X's front-facing camera, because the components used in the sensor array have to be assembled with a very high degree of accuracy. According to Bloomberg, while the time-of-flight technology uses a more advanced image sensor than the existing one in the iPhone X, it does not require the same level of precision during assembly. That fact alone could make a rear-facing 3D sensor easier to produce at high volume.
Late last month, oft-reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that Apple is unlikely to expand its front-facing 3D sensing system to the rear-facing camera module on iPhones released in 2018. Kuo said the iPhone X's 3D sensing capabilities are already at least one year ahead of Android smartphones, therefore he believes Apple's focus with next year's iPhone models will be ensuring an on-time launch with adequate supply.
Related Roundups: iPhone X, 2019 iPhones
[ 51 comments ]
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20 months ago
Cue the comments from people about how they’re glad they didn’t buy the current X and waited
20 months ago
In 2030 another new camera leave it out enjoy the X and stop talking about years to come stupid rumours
Do you realise what site you're on?
20 months ago
Good luck guinea pigs! I’ll be buying the iPhone after next as all the kinks in the rear camera will have been ironed out.
Looking at the horizon for something better........
20 months ago
How difficult could a 3d sensor be for a multi billion dollar company to work out?
Not that difficult. Mass producing it in the tens of millions and hitting a defect rate of below 0.0001% is the hard part.
20 months ago
This is very hard because you need to measure time-of-flight differences. If they do manage to pull this off, it would be truly amazing.
Example: For depth resolution of 1cm you'd need to be able to measure time differences of 33.3 pico seconds (i.e. 0,0000000000333 or 33.3 trillionths seconds). But 1cm for facial recognition is too coarse; they'd need a fraction of this.
It's been done ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-of-flight_camera#Direct_Time-of-Flight_imagers') in high-tech systems taking up more space than a whole iPhone.
Example: For depth resolution of 1cm you'd need to be able to measure time differences of 33.3 pico seconds (i.e. 0,0000000000333 or 33.3 trillionths seconds). But 1cm for facial recognition is too coarse; they'd need a fraction of this.
It's been done ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-of-flight_camera#Direct_Time-of-Flight_imagers') in high-tech systems taking up more space than a whole iPhone.
20 months ago
Yikes, next year’s iPhone is sounding like a beta test. There’s bound to be problems in a gen 1 rear 3D camera system.
Good luck guinea pigs! I’ll be buying the iPhone after next as all the kinks in the rear camera will have been ironed out.
Edit: I thought I was obviously tongue-in-cheek but I guess not. So here’s the tag: /s
These types of comments are so common here that people just assume you’re being serious. Lol.
Good luck guinea pigs! I’ll be buying the iPhone after next as all the kinks in the rear camera will have been ironed out.
Edit: I thought I was obviously tongue-in-cheek but I guess not. So here’s the tag: /s
These types of comments are so common here that people just assume you’re being serious. Lol.
20 months ago
If they do this right this will be bigger then iPhone and everything else they did before. But it will undoubtedly be without any projections. Should be something with 3D camera depth sensing.
Pure awesomeness for the geek and everyone else
Pure awesomeness for the geek and everyone else
20 months ago
Im surprised how long this whole AR topic takes to take form.
I remember i had a map app on my 3gs back then that would project map infos into my surroundings on screen.
I remember i had a map app on my 3gs back then that would project map infos into my surroundings on screen.
20 months ago
Or people who don't care about having the latest thing, don't have time or energy to swap phones every year, have learned to never buy first gen apple stuff and its inevitable bugs (iphone 6+ touch disease, etc.), and prefer something that's stable and polished.
But to each their own...
20 months ago
Because the majority who knock the iPhone X are not using logic, they're simply reacting off emotion because of something they don't approve of in terms of features or capabilities they don't like. I know the member you quoted was likely being facetious in their Post, but from my readings, I am amazed how many Judge Face ID with snark comments and not once have they ever used it, which they openly admit.
I am super excited for Face ID and can not wait until the X Plus comes out next year. The reduction in physical size from a plus to an X is what I dont like, i picked up the X and instantly found it uncomfortable to use compared to the larger plus (big hands :) ). I would love to have an X otherwise.
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