The iPhone X doesn’t actually need the TrueDepth camera kit in its notch for Animoji

Well, folks were perfectly fine with unlocking their phone via the Touch ID finger scanner, and now it turns out that the Animoji feature may not even need the TrueDepth set, so... Wait, what? Apparently, even when you cover everything in the notch area but the regular selfie camera, you will still be able to animate your facial expressions in the form of a fox, a robot, or an alien. Granted, the 3D face-scanning kit is maybe being used for the initial mapping, or for more detailed representation of your mimics, but it's not otherwise a requirement, it seems.

Apple, however, has enabled its augmented reality development kit only for the front camera of the iPhone X, not the other lowly iPhones, so you will still need that expensive gear to swap your face with the one of a talking pig, and startle the natives in the Amazonian rainforests.

source: TNW