What experts are saying about Apple’s next big thing
But perhaps the most interesting feature currently rumored for the so-called "iPhone 8" is a new "3D" camera. ...the first step towards a technology called "augmented reality,"
[Tim Cook]...earlier this year, he said it could "be as big as the smartphone,"..
Steven Milunovich, UBS
He writes that Apple has an advantage over companies like Magic Leap, Google, and Microsoft for AR for four reasons:
- "hardware expertise and superior hardware/software integration;
- consistent updated releases with most customers on the latest version of iOS compared with the fragmented Android OS base;
- an installed base of iPhone and iPad customers that can use AR rather than starting from scratch; and
- a cloud infrastructure that facilitates data gathering."
Milunovich also writes that "Apple's experience designing its own chips could present an opportunity."
Andrew Gardiner and team, Barclays
He believes chipmakers like AMS, STMicroelectronics, Lumentum, and II-VI may be big winners as Apple includes a 3D sensor in 10s of millions of iPhones.
Ultimately, the big question for Gardiner is whether Apple will use a time-of-flight sensor or structured light sensor. He thinks Apple will use a combination of the two.
Apple currently includes a "time-of-flight" sensor in current iPhones.
Morgan Stanley
They include a diagram courtesy of Primesense, an Israeli company that Apple bought in 2013.
Morgan Stanley cites AMS, a current Apple supplier, for potential applications for this technology, including "augmented reality and virtual reality, gesture, face recognition biometrics, improved 2D and video images, body measurement as well as autonomous driving."
But Morgan Stanley questions the consumer appeal of AR and the viability of the requisite 3D camera technology, including whether most smartphones will have the necessary horsepower to do get the job done. Many people in the AR industry have told me that the power consumption and heat generated by processors are critical roadblocks.
Ming-Chi Kuo, KGI Securities
He believes that the 3D camera on the upcoming phone will actually take the place of the front sensor, and will be composed of three modules.
AR is related to all Apple’s current businesses; the key is that AR is an innovative human-machine interface that could be used in various devices & applications. All of Apple’s past successes were related to human-machine interfaces, such as mouse for Mac, click wheel for iPod, and multi-touch for iPhone and iPad.
See the full story here: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-apples-new-3d-camera-2017-2