If the latest rumors pan out, the iPhone 8 will have a much more feature-rich front-facing camera.
9to5Mac got its hands on a report released today by reliable Apple analyst KGI Ming-Chi Kuo indicating that the next iPhone will have a "revolutionary" front camera with 3D capabilities. In other words, 3D selfies could soon be a thing.
This new 3D selfie cam also reportedly has applications for gaming: "The analyst says the advanced 3D front camera system could be used in new innovative games that can accurately replace a character's head with that of the user," 9to5Mac reports. "The combination of front camera and 3D sensor would allow the iPhone to generate a 3D selfie which could be used in augmented reality."
The new feature is said to rely on technology Apple picked up through its 2013 acquisition of PrimeSense — an Israel-based company whose 3D sensor technology previously found its way into Microsoft's Kinect device, among other products.
Phones with 3D capabilities isn't a new concept; Amazon's 2014 Fire Phone boasted a pseudo-three-dimensional interface known as Dynamic Perspective. As PCMag noted it its review of the Fire Phone, Dynamic Perspective was a gimmick that used "four front-facing cameras and the phone's gyroscopic sensor to change the apparent angle you're seeing things, for a pseudo-three-dimensional effect without the usual 3D-related headaches." The Fire Phone was a flop, but Apple's version may fare better.