The latest investor update from Barclays claims Apple will include True Tone displays in all 2017 iPhone and add new 3D sensors to the iPhone 8 to facial recognition and augmented reality functions, 9to5Mac reports. The researchers said all three of the iPhone models expected to launch later this year will feature the True Tone display first seen in the 9.7” iPad Pro, allowing the devices to use an ambient light sensors to adapt the colors in the display to the light in the room to deliver the best possible color quality. While the OLED screen rumored to be coming in the iPhone 8 will set it apart from the lower-end models, adding True Tone to the full lineup could be a key selling feature in convincing users to upgrade if they’re looking for a reason to justify choosing the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus.
The 3D sensors — expected to be exclusive to the iPhone 8 — will rely on “two structured light cameras, one each on the front and back.” That’s a departure from earlier speculation that only the front would feature a structured light camera, with the rear camera relying on an “advanced depth mapping Time-of-Flight sensor.” Barclays now thinks “the 3D sensing for facial recognition (front) and augmented reality (rear) will be conducted via two custom modules” produced by Austrian semiconductor maker AMS. A report from last month claimed Apple has hundreds of engineers working on its new iPhone cameras, including the ability to manipulate specific elements within an image or “take a picture and then change the depth of the photograph or the depth of specific objects in the picture later.”