Roger Fingas
Looking to keep up with the competition from Apple's iPhone X, a number of Android smartphone makers are expected to adopt 3D sensors for products launching in 2018.
Among those are major Chinese brands Huawei, Oppo, and Xiaomi, according to DigiTimes sources. The latter two companies have reportedly verified 3D sensing packages developed by a joint partnership of Qualcomm, Himax, and Truly Opto-electronics.
Several other suppliers are forecast to win 3D sensor orders — among them Apple partner Largan Precision, which supplies camera lenses for both iPhones and Android devices and has receiver and transmitter lens modules for 3D sensors.
The TrueDepth camera has become one of the main draws of the iPhone X, mainly due to it enabling Face ID, which lets someone unlock their phone simply by looking at it. The camera is also used for animoji within the Messages app.
Apple and Android phone makers regularly trade positions in the race to claim features. Several Android phones have already used edge-to-edge OLED screens like that on the iPhone X for instance, and in fact Apple's chief rival, Samsung, is believed to be the X's only panel supplier.
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
William Gallagher
Amber Neely
35 Comments
will be interesting to see how sophisticated they can make them and if it will be secure enough for payments...
Cue "I Will Follow" by U2…
Android has been following the iPhone since its inception
Where Apple leads, Android will follow. Samsung is smart to cash in on being an Apple supplier. That is where it makes most of its profits.
Sure they can copy 3d sensors. But they won't be able to copy Face ID. Apple has shown Face ID to be better than Touch ID. Face ID does CONTINUOUS ID verification - the biggest innovation in security - without running out of battery power. Apple can do this because it blends software and hardware - something the Android competitors can't do.