Apple iPhone
A passenger looks at his Apple iPhone on a commercial flight from Sydney, Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand, July 8, 2017. Reuters/Jason Reed

If latest reports are to be believed, the Apple iPhone 8 may come with a rear-facing 3D laser to support Augmented Reality (AR) apps. The camera will also have superfast autofocus abilities.

Rumours about the 10th anniversary iPhone are running rife. Many believe that the smartphone will be coming with 3D sensors for facial recognition. It would not be surprising if Apple chooses to integrate 3D lasers to the rear camera. Some, however, believe that these features are not for the iPhone 8 but for the 2018 handset.

Reports also suggest that Apple has procured vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) components. The iPhone will have the system incorporated to improve the camera’s autofocus abilities and also depth perception for better AR experiences.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has always been in favour of AR than Virtual Reality (VR). He also announced the ARKit at the WWDC 2017. This marked the company’s foray into AR [In Case You Missed It: iPhone 8, Galaxy Note 8 to feature dual-camera setup, reveals leaks; AR can take Apple past Samsung]. The ARKit is expected to arrive with iOS 11 later this year. Developers will be able to create AR apps for all Apple products. If at all the iPhone 8 has to come with VCSEL technology, its engineers will have a tough job to carry out.

There is no way to confirm the authenticity of the leaks about the VCSEL technology in Apple iPhone 8. Fans will have to wait till September to know if 3D lasers and sensors will grace both sides of the highly-anticipated smartphone, reports Tech Radar.

There is also no word on the release date of the handset. Certain tech experts think it is on mid-late October, not September. Moreover, this is not the first time there are rumours about Apple incorporating 3D laser technology in its next-gen iPhone.

A number of analysts over the past few months have cited their own sources within the supply chain to reveal similar information. Whether AR is coming in a big way to iPhone 8 is a thing to see, but one thing is for sure: the company is focusing a lot on the technology. With a more advanced camera system, the ARKit will also become more capable. Stay tuned on IBT AU for more updates on the Apple iPhone 8.

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