MacRumors

The "notch," or sensor housing on the iPhone X is the single most polarizing design decision Apple made when creating its new flagship smartphone. Some people hate the way the notch eats into the display, while others appreciate that extra bit of visible space.

Love it or hate it, the notch is here to stay until Apple finds a better way to integrate the TrueDepth camera system into its iPhone lineup. Luckily, while the notch can be disturbing at first, most people find it's easy to become accustomed to. In the video below, we explore the notch, how it affects day to day iPhone X usage, how apps are compensating, and some ways to hide it.

Apple's official policy is that developers and users should embrace the notch, and as apps have implemented designs that work around it, it's blended into the background and become less noticeable in day to day use.

There are still apps that have yet to adapt to the notch, but as optimizations continue, it'll disappear even further. Here at MacRumors, we've found that the notch isn't really bothersome at all.

One exception might be landscape mode, as it's more noticeable in that orientation when doing things like browsing Safari, watching YouTube videos, and playing games. Safari browsing is getting better, though, with a new Webkit API in iOS 11.2 that allows developers to design around the notch for a better full screen experience, and in the YouTube app, if you double tap on a video, it expands to a full screen mode that's easier to watch.

For those who absolutely hate the notch, there are a couple of new apps like Notcho, designed to edit wallpapers to add a black bar to the top, effectively hiding it on the Home and Lock screen. Notcho doesn't work within apps, though, and in our opinion, hiding the notch looks worse than accepting it.

Shipping estimates for the iPhone X have improved to 2 to 3 weeks across Europe, suggesting Apple's efforts to ramp up supply and production are starting to see some success. The 2 to 3 week shipping estimates are an improvement over the previous 3 to 4 week shipping estimates that have been available since early November.

The new 2 to 3 week shipping estimates are available in all European countries where the device has launched, including the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and more.

iPhones ordered today in these countries will arrive well ahead of the holidays, in early December.

Other countries in North America and Asia Pacific still list 3 to 4 week shipping estimates, but the last time shipping estimates improved, we saw better estimates in Europe that then expanded to the United States. We expect to see U.S. shipping estimates drop soon.

In addition to improving shipping estimates from devices purchased from the online Apple Store, we've also been hearing continual reports from MacRumors readers who have seen their pre-ordered iPhone X models shipping out much sooner than expected. Many who originally had December shipping estimates have already received their devices or are expecting them in November.

Apple retail stores are also receiving regular shipments and customers who check stock on Apple.com early and use stock-tracking tools like iStockNow have been able to make purchases with no wait time.

Back in early November, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple was working to ramp up iPhone X production week by week, with the aim of getting the new smartphone out to customers "as soon as possible."

Ahead of the iPhone X launch, rumors suggested the device would be heavily constrained and in short supply until well into 2018, but given the improvements we're already seeing, supply/demand balance could be reached earlier than originally expected.

Update: Shipping estimates have now improved to two to three weeks in Asia Pacific as well, which includes countries like Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and more.

A new video has surfaced of a 10-year-old child unlocking his mother's iPhone X with his face even though Face ID was set up with her face.

We are seeing a flood of videos on YouTube from iPhone users who have gotten their hands on the new iPhone X and are trying to trick the Face ID. When my wife and I received our iPhone X, we had no such intention. However, things changed right after we were done setting up our new iPhones on November 3rd. We were sitting down in our bedroom and were just done setting up the Face IDs, our 10-year-old son walked in anxious to get his hands on the new iPhone X. Right away my wife declared that he was not going to access her phone. Acting exactly as a kid would do when asked to not do something, he picked up her phone and with just a glance got right in.

The younger Malik was then consistently able to unlock his mother's iPhone X, according to his parents. He was even able to unlock his father's iPhone X, but only on one attempt, which he has since been unable to replicate.

WIRED reporter Andy Greenberg suggested that Sherwani re-register her face to see what would happen. Upon doing so, the iPhone X no longer allowed Ammar access. Interestingly, after Sherwani tried registering her face again a few hours later in the same indoor, nighttime lighting conditions in which she first set up her iPhone X, the son was able to regain access with his face.

The parents clarified that no one ever entered the iPhone X's passcode after any of the failed unlocking attempts. That's important, since when Face ID fails to recognize you beyond a certain threshold, and you immediately enter a passcode, the TrueDepth camera takes another capture to improve its reliability.

Apple explains in its Face ID security paper:

Conversely, if Face ID fails to recognize you, but the match quality is higher than a certain threshold and you immediately follow the failure by entering your passcode, Face ID takes another capture and augments its enrolled Face ID data with the newly calculated mathematical representation. This new Face ID data is discarded after a finite number of unlocks and if you stop matching against it. These augmentation processes allow Face ID to keep up with dramatic changes in your facial hair or makeup use, while minimizing false acceptance.

Given no passcode was ever entered, we can assume that Face ID never learned and adjusted for the son's face.

The same Face ID security paper states that the probability of a false match is higher among children under the age of 13, because their distinct facial features may not have fully developed. Given the child is only 10 years old, and Apple's information, what's shown in the video isn't a surprising flaw.

Nevertheless, the video is further evidence that Face ID isn't 100 percent foolproof given just the right circumstances. If you are concerned about this, Apple merely recommends using only a passcode to authenticate.

In related news, Vietnamese security firm Bkav recently shared a video in which it was able to spoof Face ID with a mask. The video is generating headlines since Apple said Face ID uses sophisticated anti-spoofing neural networks to minimize its chances of being spoofed, including with a mask.

We're skeptical about the video given the lack of accompanying details. For instance, Bkav hasn't specified whether it disabled Face ID's default "Require Attention" feature, which provides an additional layer of security by verifying that you are looking at the iPhone before authentication is granted.

Even if the video is legitimate, it's hardly something that the average person should be concerned about. The chances of someone creating such a sophisticated mask of your facial features would seem extremely slim.

Apple so far has not responded to the videos, beyond pointing reporters to its existing Face ID security paper we linked to above.

Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer, a primary assembler of the Apple Watch, has revealed that it is working on an augmented reality product for an undisclosed company that some industry observers believe is Apple.

"Currently, we see such a device available in the market no later than the year 2019," he told reporters after the company's earnings conference.

Leung noted that if an augmented reality device could carry a price tag lower than $1,000, it would likely become a hit in the market, although it is unlikely he has any knowledge of Apple's pricing plans if they even exist yet.

Quanta is the second Apple supplier to mention involvement with an augmented reality product after fellow Taiwanese company Catcher Technology said it has been tapped to supply parts for an undisclosed wearable device.

Bloomberg was among the first to report on Apple's work on an augmented reality headset. It said Apple aims to have the technology ready by 2019, and could ship a finished product as early as 2020, which is a slightly longer timeline.

The headset's custom operating system, based on iOS, is reportedly dubbed "rOS" for "reality operating system."

Apple hasn't finalized how users will control the headset and launch apps, but it is investigating touchscreens, Siri voice activation, and head gestures as it creates prototypes, the report said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook alluded to any headset being at least a few years away during a recent interview about augmented reality.

"Today I can tell you that the technology itself doesn't exist to do that in a quality way," Cook said. "We don't give a rats about being first, we want to be best in creating people's experiences. Something that you would see out in the market any time soon would not be something that any of us would be satisfied with."

Cook has repeatedly expressed a "profound interest" in augmented reality, which he favors over virtual reality. Apple's ARKit platform on iOS 11 enables developers to integrate augmented reality features into iPhone and iPad apps, potentially laying the foundation for what's to come.

Johny Srouji, Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies at Apple, recently talked about iPhone chipmaking, Face ID security, augmented reality, and more in a wide-ranging interview with Israeli website CTech by Calcalist.

For context, Srouji leads the team responsible for custom silicon and hardware technologies like batteries, storage controllers, and application processors, including the new A11 Bionic chip in the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.

Apple's control over both hardware and software allows Srouji's team to have a three-year roadmap for iPhone and iPad processors:

"Silicon is unforgiving," Mr. Srouji said. "My team is already working on the chips you're going to see in 2020. You make bets. We have the system and the software. We have better knowledge versus external chipmakers about where things are going to end up. Since we own the silicon, we own the software, the operating system and everything else, we deliver, always. We deliver for the exact specification of iOS and nothing else. We don't have to worry about other operating systems."

Srouji complimented Israel, where he was born and raised, for its significant technological contributions to Apple products. He said Apple now employs over 900 engineers in Israel, up from a reported 700 or so in 2015.

A few years ago, Apple opened research and development offices in Haifa, north of Tel Aviv, with the facilities serving as the iPhone maker's second-largest R&D operations outside of the United States at the time.

There, a team of engineers are focused on chip design, testing, and engineering, according to Apple's job listings over the years.

"The team in Israel is a key part of the overall engineering team in the U.S. and other areas of the world – wherever we have our R&D," he said. "The things they do are key to any device we ship, to all devices."

As examples, he mentioned the A11 Bionic system on the chip powering the new iPhone X, the integrated Wi-Fi Bluetooth chipset in and the Apple Watch, and the storage component in every Apple device.

"We depend on the team as part of the overall R&D team in the U.S. and other parts of the world to deliver," Mr. Srouji said. “And if they don't—bad things happen, alright?"

Apple has also acquired several Israeli companies over the years, including PrimeSense, which developed the original Kinect sensor for Xbox. PrimeSense's 3D sensing tech is believed to be at the core of Face ID on the iPhone X.

Apple later scooped up Israeli startup LinX, whose dual-lens camera technologies are likely used in the latest iPhone models. It also bought Israeli flash memory firm Anobit Technologies and facial recognition startup RealFace.

Srouji added that Face ID is the fastest and most secure facial recognition system in the industry. He also said 3D masks shouldn't be able to spoof Face ID, although a questionable video may have proved otherwise just days later.

"When Apple delivers Face ID, we deliver it in the fastest, smartest, and most secure way," he said.

"If I want to spoof and create some 3D model mask of your face—it shouldn't work. When Apple does it you know it's going to be the most secure, reliable and fastest, and if it doesn't work there is a reason. The other thing about Face ID is that actually, we learn. We learn to adapt—if you grow a beard, if you have sunglasses, if you have eyeglasses, a hat—it works."

Full Interview: Silicon is "Unforgiving," Says Apple's Chip Chief Johny Srouji

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple is developing 3D depth sensing technology for the rear-facing cameras in its 2019 iPhones, according to a new report by Bloomberg on Tuesday. The 3D sensor system will be different to the one found in the iPhone X's front-facing camera, and is said to be the next big step in turning the smartphone into a leading augmented reality device.

Apple is evaluating a different technology from the one it currently uses in the TrueDepth sensor system on the front of the iPhone X, the people said. The existing system relies on a structured-light technique that projects a pattern of 30,000 laser dots onto a user's face and measures the distortion to generate an accurate 3D image for authentication. The planned rear-facing sensor would instead use a time-of-flight approach that calculates the time it takes for a laser to bounce off surrounding objects to create a three-dimensional picture of the environment.

The existing TrueDepth camera would continue to be used in the front-facing camera of future iPhones in order to power Face ID, while the new system would bring the more advanced "time-of-flight" 3D sensing capability to the rear camera, according to the sources cited. Discussions with manufacturers are reportedly already underway, and include Infineon, Sony, STMicroelectronics, and Panasonic. Testing is said to be still in the early stages, and could end up not being used in the phones at all.

With the release of iOS 11, Apple introduced the ARKit software framework that allows iPhone developers to build augmented reality experiences into their apps. The addition of a rear-facing 3D sensor could theoretically increase the ability for virtual objects to interact with environments and enhance the illusion of solidity.

Apple was reportedly beset with production problems when making the sensor in the iPhone X's front-facing camera, because the components used in the sensor array have to be assembled with a very high degree of accuracy. According to Bloomberg, while the time-of-flight technology uses a more advanced image sensor than the existing one in the iPhone X, it does not require the same level of precision during assembly. That fact alone could make a rear-facing 3D sensor easier to produce at high volume.

Late last month, oft-reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that Apple is unlikely to expand its front-facing 3D sensing system to the rear-facing camera module on iPhones released in 2018. Kuo said the iPhone X's 3D sensing capabilities are already at least one year ahead of Android smartphones, therefore he believes Apple's focus with next year's iPhone models will be ensuring an on-time launch with adequate supply.

Apple has retaken the lead in the global wearable band market thanks to strong Apple Watch shipments in the third quarter of this year, according to new research data from Canalys. According to the data, Apple shipped 3.9 million units in Q3 2017, compared to 2.8 million the year previous.

Those figures gave the tech giant 23 percent of the market, placing it marginally ahead of the 21 percent recorded for Xiaomi, which briefly held the number 1 spot for the first time the previous quarter. Canalys estimates that the new Apple Watch Series 3 LTE accounted for only 800,000 shipments because of constrained supplies.

"Strong demand for the LTE-enabled Apple Watch Series 3 has dispelled service providers' doubts about the cellular smartwatch not appealing to customers," said Canalys Analyst Jason Low. Despite strong shipments, the Apple Watch Series 3 did not reach its full potential in Q3. It suffered limited availability as demand outstripped supply in major markets. Service providers had underestimated demand for the new Apple Watch.

According to Low, customers in China have so far been driven away by service disruption, therefore operators need to not only bring in more stock, but also work on their service coverage to cater for expected higher demand in the fourth quarter.

Xiaomi and Fitbit, which shipped 3.6 million and 3.5 million wearable bands respectively, also appear to have bucked the trend of a traditionally weaker Q3 by posting quarter-on-quarter growth. However, despite increased smartwatch shipments, Canalys estimates waning demand for basic bands meant the overall wearable band market fell 2 percent, totaling 17.3 million units. 

All indications point towards a comeback for the Apple Watch this year, thanks to Apple's wearable division promoting a "tetherless" experience and putting particular emphasis on the device's health features – factors that CEO Tim Cook was eager to highlight in his recent earnings call.

"The ability to go for a run with just your Apple Watch, or go for a quick errand without your phone, while staying connected, is a game changer," said Cook. "Now more than ever, Apple Watch is the ultimate device for healthy life, and is already making a big difference in our customers' lives.

Apple's entire wearables business was up 75 percent year over year in the fourth quarter, according to Cook. In fiscal 2017, it had already generated the annual revenue of a Fortune 400 company.

If supplies are able to meet demand, Apple could be looking at a bumper holiday season for Apple Watch, while the device's continued maturation could be further underlined by its medical potential, such as in the upcoming launch of the Apple Watch heart study. The study will use data from Apple Watch to see if it's possible to identify irregular heart rhythms and notify users when unusual patterns are detected. Indeed, the smartwatch may already be able to accurately detect hypertension and sleep apnea in users, according to a study published on Monday.