Rumours about new iPhones normally centre on the screen, processing chips or whether there will be a headphone jack. But a new report highlights something that could be a little controversial for Apple’s next smartphone: a camera that can map your face.
Apple may be considering a camera designed for authentication and augmented reality for its next high-end iPhone, according to Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo of KGI Securities. With a better sense of depth, this type of camera can tell how far away something is from the lens. It could even generate something like a 3D selfie, 9 to 5 Mac reported.
Adding such a camera seems to be a natural next step for Apple. It already organises iPhone photos based on the subjects it recognises in the images. And its competitors, such as Microsoft and Samsung, have used facial recognition for years to unlock phones.
You may have heard in passing, however, that facial recognition technology has had some problems. Companies, including Hewlett-Packard and Nikon, have faced criticism when their cameras had trouble recognising faces and features of people of colour. Some experts say that problem could arise when the algorithms aren’t exposed to a variety of faces while in development.
Security experts have also raised questions about facial recognition as a form of authentication because it doesn’t always work that well.
But experts say that Apple’s reported plan to use a depth-sensing camera for the feature addresses those issues.
Apple has made several commitments to protecting user privacy and information. When it introduced the photo features in June, it took great pains to explain that it stores information only on a person’s device just as it does with your fingerprints.