At a time when Apple's newly-launched iPhone X is creating buzz around the tech world with its set of exciting new features, rumours have already surfaced about the company's 2019 iPhone.
Bloomberg has come out with a report on Tuesday suggesting that Apple is working on a rear-facing 3D sensor that will improve augmented-reality (AR) features in the 2019 iPhone model. The proposed system will fire lasers out of the phone and measure the time it takes for the reflection to get back to the device to create a 3D picture of the environment.
Apple is currently said to be in talks with prospective suppliers of the new 3D-sensing system. Source told Bloomberg that the technology is currently being tested, and it's still not certain that the feature will eventually make it to the 2019 iPhone.
The report, however, assured that Apple is expected to keep the TrueDepth sensors that make it possible for the Face ID to the magic on the iPhone X. Therefore, if the rumoured rear 3D sensor turns out to be a reality, iPhones from 2019 onwards will feature both front and rear-facing 3D sensing capabilities.
The main objective of the rear 3D sensor will help Apple improve its AP apps and services. The company's ARKit software tool has already demonstrated some impressive examples of AR on iOS devices, but it struggles with vertical planes like walls, doors or windows. According to the report, a rear-facing 3D sensor will fix that issue.
Apart from the laser-based rear 3D sensor, nothing much is known about the 2019 iPhone, whereas rumours are rife about the iPhones that are due in 2018.
On Monday, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a report that Apple would launch three iPhones in 2018, including 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch models with OLED displays and a 6.1-inch model with an LCD display. All three iPhones next year are expected to have a full-screen notched design and the revolutionary TrueDepth camera system.
