Android smartphones expected to follow Apple's iPhone X lead in adopting 3D sensor tech

Posted:
in iPhone
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.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 35
    NY1822NY1822 Posts: 621member
    will be interesting to see how sophisticated they can make them and if it will be secure  enough for payments...
    edited November 2017 watto_cobralostkiwi
  • Reply 2 of 35
    Cue "I Will Follow" by U2…

    anton zuykovwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 35
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Android has been following the iPhone since its inception 
    Solicalianton zuykovStrangeDayswatto_cobrapscooter63lostkiwijony0
  • Reply 4 of 35
    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.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 35
    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.
    edited November 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 35
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Of course they're gonna follow Apple's lead. That's what they all do. Yet somehow, Apple never innovates anymore????

    As @NY1822 said, it will be interesting to see how well they implement this technology. Apple has been working on FaceID for years and I can't see them perfecting this in a few months. 
    caliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 35
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    Duh! No surprise there!!! If android phone manufacturers are smart, they should work on embedding touch id under screen and swipe up bar like iPhone X for Home screen.
    edited November 2017 anton zuykovwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 35
    lukeilukei Posts: 379member
    The quality and integrity of Apple’s technology for FaceID shows how poor previous Android implementations have been. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 35
    VRingVRing Posts: 108member
    This has been known since August. Mainstream 3D sensing has been in Qualcomm's pipeline for quite a long time (launching in the Snapdragon 845). Of course, these implementations are for both the front and rear cameras.


    edited November 2017 doozydozen
  • Reply 10 of 35
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    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.
    Unfortunately they don't have to, they just have to make it appear superficially similar to convince those that aren't huge fans of critical thinking that it's just as good.
    coolfactoranton zuykovwatto_cobrapscooter63lostkiwijony0
  • Reply 11 of 35
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    lukei said:
    The quality and integrity of Apple’s technology for FaceID shows how poor previous Android implementations have been. 
    You just don't want to be first but importantly RIGHT. But, this was never be a Android's forte,slogan. They just rush to the market with poor implementation and unfortunately buyers get shafted.
    edited November 2017 watto_cobraHerman-Siliakus
  • Reply 12 of 35
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Where is Gatrguy to explain how Android had it first and Apple copied them?  With numerous links to articles backing this up of course.
    edited November 2017 watto_cobrapscooter63
  • Reply 13 of 35
    Funny how every other phone manufacturer on the planet is always combined as "Android" and then pitted against just one - Apple - in order to make it even *seem* like they are worthy "innovators"/competition. And how the conversation gets twisted into "Apple is evil/greedy because they have a "closed" ecosystem and don't share their OS with others", instead of "Every other phone manufacturer lacks the innovation to create their own OS, so they have to rely on an off-the-shelf OS freebie made by an advertising company".
    caliwatto_cobraStrangeDayslostkiwi
  • Reply 14 of 35
    VRingVRing Posts: 108member
    Again, why are we all pretending this wasn't already in the pipeline for hardware manufacturers?


    doozydozen
  • Reply 15 of 35
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    But but Android handsets have had face ID for years according to idiotic fandroids! No?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 35
    Not a surprise at all. Even if Android smartphone manufacturers don't want to follow Apple, they have to do it because it will put them at some feature disadvantage if they don't. So, while Apple takes the early and nasty heat from everyone about the Face ID "notch" module, Android can now slip right in behind and they will likely cover the module with bezels and claim they have the more elegant solution. 3D facial recognition will become widely accepted by the masses and it will be business as usual.

    I'm sure the top smartphone manufacturers will work out 3D facial recognition rather quickly especially if a few of them work together against Apple. It may have taken Apple longer to develop Face ID but the copycats will probably reverse engineer the system and replicate it quickly. Apple should have had plenty of patents to stop the system from easily being copied but Apple probably doesn't care. Qualcomm will make sure most of the Android manufacturers will be able to do just as well as Apple with 3D facial recognition in order to get revenge. I suspect the 3D facial recognition hardware will drive up the cost of Android devices slightly but for the flagship models it shouldn't matter.
    edited November 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 35
    fallenjt said:
    But but Android handsets have had face ID for years according to idiotic fandroids! No?
    They've had facial recognition but not 3D facial recognition but I guess that's close enough for them to make the claim.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 35
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Not a surprise at all. Even if Android smartphone manufacturers don't want to follow Apple, they have to do it because it will put them at some feature disadvantage if they don't. So, while Apple takes the early and nasty heat from everyone about the Face ID "notch" module, Android can now slip right in behind and they will likely cover the module with bezels and claim they have the more elegant solution. 3D facial recognition will become widely accepted by the masses and it will be business as usual.

    I'm sure the top smartphone manufacturers will work out 3D facial recognition rather quickly especially if a few of them work together against Apple. It may have taken Apple longer to develop Face ID but the copycats will probably reverse engineer the system and replicate it quickly. Apple should have had plenty of patents to stop the system from easily being copied but Apple probably doesn't care. Qualcomm will make sure most of the Android manufacturers will be able to do just as well as Apple with 3D facial recognition in order to get revenge. I suspect the 3D facial recognition hardware will drive up the cost of Android devices slightly but for the flagship models it shouldn't matter.
    Here’s the thing. 

    If you put the camera in the bezel then when you want to activate it, you look at the bezel, not the screen. Then you flick your eyes down to look at the screen. 

    I reckon that’s another reason for the notch: you look at the screen to activate FaceID. So until Apple can figure out how to put the camera behind the screen, the notch is staying. 
    doozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 35
    wood1208 said:
    lukei said:
    The quality and integrity of Apple’s technology for FaceID shows how poor previous Android implementations have been. 
    You just don't want to be first but importantly RIGHT. But, this was never be a Android's forte,slogan. They just rush to the market with poor implementation and unfortunately buyers get shafted.

    The bigger problem is that we end up with a large groups of consumers that *expect* technology to be complicated and unreliable; it's par for the course, simply because of their own buying choices. They are unable to see greener pastures.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 35
    wood1208 said:
    Duh! No surprise there!!! If android phone manufacturers are smart, they should work on embedding touch id under screen and swipe up bar like iPhone X for Home screen.
    Too much risk for them. They will look at Apple, laugh at innovation and then crudely copy it.
    Apple does the opposite. They do not laugh, but improve on the existing tech, and make it a better and more USABLE.
    watto_cobra
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