The Smartphone’s Future: It’s All About the Camera
Next month, Apple plans to hold a special event to introduce a set of new iPhones,
including a premium model that can scan 3-D objects — including your face.
But when Apple shows its new iPhones next month, including a premium model with a starting price of $999,
the company will introduce infrared facial recognition as a new method for unlocking the device.
Mr. Jacobowitz added that emerging camera technologies would be the key to stronger security features
and applications for so-called augmented reality, which uses data to digitally manipulate the physical world when people look through a smartphone lens.
Depth-sensing cameras make wall detection much easier for future iPhones, said Blair MacIntyre, a research scientist
who is working on augmented reality for Mozilla, the organization that makes the Firefox web browser.
This fall, Apple will release iOS 11, its next mobile operating system
that includes support for applications made with ARKit, a tool kit for app developers to easily create augmented-reality applications.
“This is like a real application that real people can use to make real-life decisions,”
said Michael Valdsgaard, the head of digital transformation at Ikea.
“You’re seeing the contours of the head — it’s not just the front of the face as you’re typically
thinking about,” said Sy Choudhury, a senior director of product security for Qualcomm.
