It’s going to take a while for Android manufacturers to catch up to where the iPhone X is right now, reports Ming Chi Kuo. In a note to investors today, the KGI Securities analyst said he believes Apple’s TrueDepth camera gives it a 2.5 year lead over its competitors.
It’s the TrueDepth camera that’s believed to be causing production problems with the iPhone X, which is expected to lead to low launch inventory. KGI has revised its 2017 shipping estimates for the handset from 40m to 30-35m units, based on recent channel checks.
Here’s how the TrueDepth camera works in Face ID:
Once it confirms the presence of an attentive face, the TrueDepth camera projects and reads over 30,000 infrared dots to form a depth map of the face along with a 2D infrared image. This data is used to create a sequence of 2D images and depth maps, which are digitally signed and sent to the Secure Enclave.
To counter both digital and physical spoofs, the TrueDepth camera randomizes the sequence of 2D images and depth map captures and projects a device-specific random pattern.
In addition to Face ID authorization, the TrueDepth camera is also used to facilitate face-tracking features like Animoji—the animated emoji feature Apple showed off during its iPhone event to much fanfare. The iPhone X launches on November 3 for $999.
Source: KGI via MacRumors