All new iPhones get TrueDepth front camera

An Apple supplier that makes parts for the depth camera in the iPhone X expects a significant increase in orders in the coming quarter. That seems to indicate the arrival of more iPhones with a depth camera for Face ID and Animojis.

An analyst from Loup Ventures predicts that all three iPhones that Apple is expected to announce in September will get a TrueDepth camera system. He makes that prediction based on information that Lumentum has disclosed in its quarterly figures. Lumentum supplies vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, or VCSELs, to the iPhone maker. The company would account for 75 percent of deliveries. At the end of last year, Apple already invested in Finisar, another company that supplies vcels.

Lumentum said in its quarterly results that sales were higher than expected and for the next three months the company expects significant growth in orders. Although the company also says it has received design wins for Android devices, Loup Ventures believes the growth is mainly due to the arrival of more iPhones with depth cameras.

The vcsel is one of the components of the TrueDepth camera system that Apple uses for Face ID unlocking and Animojis. Currently, only the iPhone X has such a system. A beta of iOS 12 has also made it clear that iPads are on the way with Face ID, which also requires a depth camera. In any case, the suspected design of the three new iPhones offers space for sensors and cameras in the notch on all models, just like with the current iPhone X.

There are also rumors that Apple is considering iPhones with a depth camera on the back to enable better forms of augmented reality. Presumably, though, that won’t happen in the upcoming iPhones, but next year at the earliest.

The suspected design of the three upcoming iPhones