What is a TrueDepth camera? All About the iPhone Camera Feature

If you’re thinking about buying a new iPhone, you’ve probably come across the phrase “TrueDepth”. But what is a TrueDepth camera?

Read on to find out everything you need to know about the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera, including what it is, what it does, how it works, and where to find it.

What is a TrueDepth camera?

TrueDepth is what Apple calls the iPhone’s front-facing camera technology, which supports Face ID and Memoji.

The camera system can also automatically adjust settings such as brightness and volume based on whether you’re paying attention to your phone, and is used to create depth in portrait mode.

How it works?

The TrueDepth camera works by projecting thousands of invisible dots onto your face and analyzing them to create a depth map of your face. The camera will also take an infrared image of your face to provide accurate facial data.

The neural engine in the Bionic chip then converts the depth map and infrared image into a mathematical representation of your face and – in the case of Face ID – compares that data with your registered face data to confirm it matches and unlocks your phone. .

Since the TrueDepth camera captures depth information that is not present in 2D images, it will be much more difficult for outsiders to break into your phone using a photo or mask of your face. The camera can even detect if your eyes are closed or pointed away from the device so that no one can unlock your phone when you’re sleeping or paying less attention.

The technology is smart enough to adapt to changes in your appearance, such as makeup, glasses, facial hair and hats, but if you’ve ever had an iPhone, you know that Face ID can stumble when it comes to more advanced settings. like face masks (although Apple has updated the software to deal with this in response to the pandemic).

In addition to Face ID, the TrueDepth camera has other apps that allow the phone to dim the screen when you look away to save battery or lower the notification volume when you look at your device.

The Memoji and Animoji features also use the TrueDepth camera system to mimic your movements and facial expressions in real time, as does the portrait camera mode when using the front camera.

What devices support TrueDepth?

The TrueDepth camera system first debuted with the iPhone X in 2017 and can be found in every iPhone released since then, as well as the 3rd generation iPad Pro (2018) and later.

This includes the latest iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max models, as well as iPad Pro (2021).