KGI: TrueDepth Camera Gives Apple 2.5 Year Lead Over Android Competitors

It will take Apple's Android competitors up to two and a half years to replicate the functionality and user experience of the TrueDepth Camera in the iPhone X, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told investors in a note shared this morning.

In a previous report, Kuo predicted it would take one to two years for competitors to catch up, but having watched Apple's official technical demonstrations in detail, it's now believed it will take longer to replicate the user experience.

iphonextruedepthcamera 1
The TrueDepth camera will give Apple a solid technological lead throughout 2018 and 2019, leading Kuo to say KGI has "full confidence" in the iPhone's growth prospects in the high-end smartphone market over the next couple of years despite iPhone X constraints in 2017.

KGI Securities has revised its 2017 iPhone X shipping estimates from 40 million to 30 to 35 million units, but Kuo says the firm stands by its "positive outlook" on shipments of future iPhones equipped with the TrueDepth Camera.

Apple's TrueDepth camera system enables its Face ID facial recognition system and other features like advanced face tracking and analysis for Animoji. Rumors suggest the difficulty of manufacturing the TrueDepth camera is what has led to significant iPhone X production issues, severely limiting initial available supply.

Apple's competitors like Samsung and Google will also need to overcome these development and manufacturing hurdles to create a product that's similar to the TrueDepth Camera. Samsung has already released a device with facial recognition capabilities, but it is inferior to Apple's solution as it is limited to 2D tracking making it less secure and easy to fool.

Ming-Chi Kuo previously said that should Apple's TrueDepth camera prove to be popular with consumers, all of the company's future iPhones are likely to adopt the feature.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple iPhone 16e Feature

Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued. The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models. In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

Here Are the New Apple Products We're Still Expecting This Spring

Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring. There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category. M4...
Generic iOS 18

Here's When Apple Will Release iOS 18.4

Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch. All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
apple c1

Apple Unveils 'C1' as First Custom Cellular Modem

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:08 am PST by
Apple today announced its first custom cellular modem with the name "C1," debuting in the all-new iPhone 16e. The new modem contributes to the iPhone 16e's power efficiency, giving it the longest battery life of any iPhone with a 6.1-inch display, such as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16. Expanding the benefits of Apple silicon, C1 is the first modem designed by Apple and the most...
Apple Northbrook

Apple Store Permanently Closing at Struggling Mall in Chicago Area

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:46 pm PST by
Apple is permanently closing its retail store at the Northbrook Court shopping mall in the Chicago area. The company confirmed the upcoming closure today in a statement, but it has yet to provide a closing date for the location. Apple Northbrook opened in 2005, and the store moved to a larger space in the mall in 2017. Apple confirmed that affected employees will continue to work for the...

Top Rated Comments

A MacBook lover Avatar
97 months ago
Apple is setting the stage for the next decade of what people expect from smartphones.

Much like the original iPhone launch, it took android years to catch up and make truly competitive products.

Same with Touch ID.

No surprise it is happening again.
First with multi-touch (just getting it as smooth as the iPhone took a decade)

Then retina
- Touch-ID
- Secure enclaves that doesn’t expose the private key
- 64 Bit
- Swift/APFS
- CPU design
- GPU design
- Camera and haptics(arguable)
- AR
- And now TrueDepth.

Apple is/was years ahead in all these categories. They have set a tremendous foundation.
Score: 66 Votes (Like | Disagree)
syndalis Avatar
97 months ago
Apple is setting the stage for the next decade of what people expect from smartphones.

Much like the original iPhone launch, it took android years to catch up and make truly competitive products.

Same with Touch ID.

No surprise it is happening again.
Score: 66 Votes (Like | Disagree)
canadianreader Avatar
97 months ago
I am wondering if Mr Kuo isn't paid by Apple..
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lazard Avatar
97 months ago
guess Android manufacturers will have to wait 2 yrs to implement animojis
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
97 months ago
true, if Apple was able to implement the sensor under the screen, FaceID doesn't exist. They'll scrap FaceID once they get it working.
False. Craig Federighi stated they experimented with Touch ID under the display as a Plan B option, but abandoned the project once Face ID was working as intended. The idea that Face ID was rushed due to Touch ID under the Display was not true. Touch ID is not coming back. Face ID is Apples future.

https://daringfireball.net/2017/09/iphone_x_event_thoughts_and_observations
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J.Wei Avatar
97 months ago
and those fandroids said apple copied facial(photo) recognition from android 4.0 ??
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)