iPhone 8 'Revolutionary' 3D Front Camera, 3GB RAM Rumoured

It's been a decade since the advent of the iPhone, and Apple is expected to mark this occasion with a feature-rich iPhone 8. The iPhone 8 is expected to come with a bezel-less OLED display, no Home Button, and a glass back. Rumours have been aplenty, and the latest batch brings specification and front camera details about the iPhone 8.

According to KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's latest report, iPhone 8 is expected to come with a revolutionary front camera and an infrared module that could sense 3D objects captured in the lens. This new hardware will be able to merge 2D imagery with depth information, and will be used for gaming, augmented reality applications, facial recognition, and even iris scanning. For example, while playing a game, the iPhone 8 front camera can capture the player's photo, create a 3D head of the user, and replace a game character's head with that of the user. Various AR applications can leverage this new hardware, reportedly developed by PrimeSense (Apple acquired the company in 2013).

Apple iPhone 8 Specifications, Release Date, and More - Leaks and Rumours So Far

Apple first introduced depth detection in the iPhone 7 Plus, where the two cameras at the back could determine the distance of the object captured by the lens, however that was in its nascent stage. iPhone 8 will reportedly see a more advanced 3D front camera leveraged by the infrared technology from Lumentum. Manufacturing of this IR transmitter and receiver will be done by Foxconn, and the iPhone 8 front camera will be produced by Sony.

9to5Mac cites Kuo's report to note that "the 3D system works by sending invisible IR light signals outwards from the phone and then detecting the signals that bounce back off of objects using the 1.4 megapixel IR receiver". Kuo also notes that Apple is years ahead of the Android platform in terms on 3D algorithms, giving it a prominent edge in the industry.

There's also a new Trendforce report reiterating that the iPhone 8 will have a 5.8-inch display, however it claims that the wraparound nature of the display rumoured earlier has been tabled due to durability issues. Apparently, Apple decided to let go of curved edges when prototypes were drop tested, and were found to be very fragile.

The report states that the iPhone 8 will have a bezel-less design, sport 3GB RAM, and will be available in two sizes - 64GB and 256GB. However, this does not mean that the 128GB model could be gone altogether. Trendforce also reiterates that the price of the device will be north of $1,000 - making it the most expensive iPhone ever. It also agrees with Kuo and says that AR and facial recognition apps will be introduced. The 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will be more competitively priced, but it expects the expensive variant to account for 40 percent of the production units. The iPhone 8, along with its siblings, is expected to arrive this fall.