Citing industry sources familiar with Apple’s plans, a new report from South Korea’s ETNews is claiming that Apple is working on combining Face ID and the front camera on future iPhones in order to reduce the size of the notch area, which according to many critics, is the most controversial attribute of the iPhone X’s design (via MacRumors).
While the report predicts that Apple may reduce the size of the TrueDepth sensor housing in 2019 iPhones and beyond, it does not specify how Apple would manage to combine these components. The source mentions a singular face recognition module, whereas Face ID is powered by an infrared camera, dot projector and flood illuminator.
“According to industries, it is heard that Apple is planning to strengthen face sensing function starting from 2019 models. That is why it is planning to increase number of parts that will be used for iPhones and is looking into combination of a face recognition module with a camera module.”
Last year, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securites had noted that Face ID will be featured on a second-generation 5.8-inch iPhone X, a larger 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus, as well as a new mid-range 6.1-inch iPhone, all of which will be released in 2018.
