Apple didn't notch the front of the iPhone X in vain (poll results)
We asked you last week whether you are taking real advantage of Apple's notch-inducing TrueDepth camera setup at the front of the iPhone X, be it for unlocking the phone or pulling your tongue out in an Animoji-ed frenzy. It turns out that Apple didn't cut the front of its most expensive phone in vain, as just 25% of the respondents didn't bother to set up face recognition. The majority, or about 57%, are using the TrueDepth camera for Face ID purposes, maybe since Apple didn't leave other biometric options on the X for that, while just a small percentage are having a kick with Animojis, and that's that.
Face ID, Animoji, Memoji and facial scanning mobile payment authorization are features that Apple all of a sudden decided will be the future of mobile biometry, resulting in a notch-y design compromise that was quickly replicated across the Android universe. Apple's Face ID tech on the iPhone X relies on four components - structured light transmitter and receiver, a front-facing camera, and a time of flight/proximity sensor.
These sensors and cameras are all clustered in the "notch" at the top bezel. The structured light ones collect depth information which is combined with images taken with the front-facing camera to produce a 3D map of your face using software algorithms. Apple uses the TrueDepth setup for Animoji and Memoji, too, as well as for, say, authorizing mobile payments.
The iPhone X hit initial production snags precisely on account of the fact that one of the component suppliers couldn't churn out sensors fast enough to satisfy the quality control. Apple has since doubled down on the 3D-mapping Face ID technology, investing $390 million in Finisar, a US maker of said depth-mapping sensors. The tech is no longer exclusive to the iPhone X, as Xiaomi's Mi 8 SE and Oppo's Find X are also using 3D-sensing kits for unlocking their phones, but Apple fans argue that its execution is arguably smoother.
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