A new report from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that Apple’s 2019 iPhone offerings will come with an upgraded Face ID camera system.
Kuo, (via MacRumors) says that he believes that Apple will utilize a new sensor that will better illuminate one’s face “to lower the impacts from visible lights of environment in order to improve the Face ID user experience.”
The report also suggests that Apple might introduce another range-sensing system with a Time of Flight 3D camera in its 2019 or 2020 iPads (potentially with the 2020 iPhones. This type of sensor measures the time in which a light dot travels between the camera and subject, and could be used to capture 3D images. The system could potentially be used for augmented reality experiences or to improve the quality of images or 3D images, which Kuo notes could then be “edited by an Apple Pencil on an iPad.”
Introduced last year with the iPhone X, Face ID uses more than 30,000 infrared dots to map your face. At the time, we noted that while the system works great in the dark, it was a bit more inconsistent under mixed or brighter lighting conditions. Having a system that helps cut through additional light noise should make the system better for users — important, because the system certainly isn’t going away anytime soon.
Source: the verge