Apple’s next-generation iPhone, presumably called the iPhone 8, will be the most advanced iPhone yet — with a price tag to match: Analysts are pegging the iPhone 8’s starting price around or over $1,000.
But the iPhone 8 will need some really desirable features to justify that price. So aside from the new OLED screen, which is said to take up almost the whole face of the iPhone 8, what else is Apple planning?
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A design mock-up of what the iPhone 8 might look like with its edge-to-edge screen. COMPUTER BILD TV
As it turns out, augmented reality may be the signature feature of the iPhone 8.According to Fast Company, a “source with knowledge of the situation” says Apple is working on a 3D laser system that works off the back of the new iPhones to capture more depth information about what’s in front of the phone, which is necessary to enable more convincing augmented-reality experiences.
Augmented reality, for those unfamiliar, is a technology that lets you see virtual objects in the real world. Popular examples include Snapchat’s face filters, and the augmented-reality mode in “Pokémon Go” that lets you see the adorable pocket monsters wherever you are, thanks to your phone’s camera. The GIF below is a good idea of what augmented reality can do — it was made by Magic Leap, a company working on a pair of glasses that promise to let you see augmented reality wherever you go. (Apple is reportedly working on smart eye glasses that can do this as well.)
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In addition to a rear-facing laser system, reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the iPhone 8’s front-facing camera will also have a laser system. This could help people take better selfies, or selfies with 3D augmented-reality effects (think Snapchat and Facebook’s filters and masks). Apple could even borrow an idea from Samsung and use this laser tech for a facial recognition authentication system to supplement or even replace Apple’s current Touch ID fingerprint system, which Apple is reportedly struggling to implement in the iPhone 8.
Source: BusinessInsider