Qualcomm to file suits in Chinese courts to ban sales of iPhone XS and XR: Financial Times
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Qualcomm to file suits in Chinese courts to ban sales of iPhone XS and XR: Financial Times

Qualcomm Inc is asking courts in China to ban sales of Apple Inc's latest iPhonemodels XS and XR after winning a preliminary injunction against older models, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.On Monday, a Chinese court had ordered a sales ban of some older Apple iPhone models for violating two patents of Qualcomm, though intellectual property lawyers said enforcement of the ban was likely still a distant threat."We plan to use the same patents to file suit against the three new iPhone models," Jiang Hongyi, a lawyer at Lexfield Law Offices who is representing Qualcomm in its patent suits, told the FT.The case, brought by Qualcomm, is part of a global patent dispute between the two U.S. companies that includes dozens of lawsuits.Apple said on Monday that all of its phone models remained on sale in mainland China and that it had filed a request for reconsideration with the court, the first step in a long appeal process that could end up at China's Supreme Court.Apple had also said its three models released in September were not part of the case.Qualcomm and Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
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Release time：2018-12-14 00:00 reading：3382 Continue reading>>
Apple says some iPhone X and MacBook models have quality issues
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Apple says some iPhone X and MacBook models have quality issues

Apple said on Friday it had found some issues affecting some of its iPhone X and 13-inch MacBook pro products and said the company would fix them free of charge.The repair offers are the latest in a string of product quality problems over the past year even as Apple has raised prices for most of its laptops, tablets and phones to new heights. Its top-end iPhones now sell for as much as $1,449 and its best iPad goes for as much as $1,899.Apple said displays on iPhone X, which came out in 2017 with a starting price of $999, may experience touch issues due to a component failure, adding it would replace those parts for free. The company said it only affects the original iPhone X, which has been superseded by the iPhone XS and XR released this autumn.The screens on affected phones may not respond correctly to touch or it could react even without being touched, the Cupertino, California-based company said.For the 13-inch MacBook Pro computers, it said an issue may result in data loss and failure of the storage drive. Apple said it would service those affected drives.Only a limited number of 128GB and 256GB solid-state drives in 13-inch MacBook Pro units sold between June 2017 and June 2018 were affected, Apple said on its website.Last year, Apple began a massive battery replacement program after it conceded that a software update intended to help some iPhone models deal with aging batteries slowed down the performance of the phones. The battery imbroglio resulted in inquires from U.S. lawmakers.In June, Apple said it would offer free replacements for the keyboards in some MacBook and MacBook Pro models. The keyboards, which Apple introduced in laptops starting in 2015, had generated complaints on social media for how much noise they made while typing and for malfunctioning unexpectedly.Apple changed the design of the keyboard this year, adding a layer of silicone underneath the keys.
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Release time：2018-11-12 00:00 reading：1197 Continue reading>>
The Stealth Winners in iPhone X
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The Stealth Winners in iPhone X

　　MADISON, Wis. — You might think the world has already seen enough Apple iPhone X teardowns. But there are grunts in the trenches who just can’t seem to get enough.　　Certainly, iPhone X teardowns focused on logic ICs have been there, done that. But the untrodden ground Apple has really broken is in areas such as optical modules, components, MEMS, packaging and PCB technologies, according to Romain Fraux, chief technology officer at System Plus Consulting, Yole Développement’s reverse-engineering partner.　　Last week, EE Times sat down with analysts at both Yole (Lyon, France) and System Plus Consulting (Nante, France).　　Asked about Apple’s most significant advancement in its iPhone X, Jean-Christophe Eloy, Yole’s CEO and president, nominated “the optical system Apple has brought to mobile devices.” He said Apple’s big milestone is that 3D sensing — an ability to recognize faces much more accurately than any existing Android phone — is now “poised to spread to everything from tablets to cars and door bells.”　　EE Times asked both Eloy and Fraux to lay out highlights of their discoveries from in-depth teardowns. We also asked them to identify lesser known players who got iPhone X design wins.　　AT&S, Austria-based PCB manufacturer, wins big　　The analysts named, among others, AT&S (Leoben, Austria), a European PCB manufacturer, as a significant contributor to the highly integrated iPhone X.　　While teardown experts such as TechInsights and iFixit alsomarveled at the PCB sandwich they saw in iPhone X, Fraux noted that AT&S, so far, “has been the only one capable of offering such an unprecedented level of high-density interconnect” on PCB boards.　　By stacking two PCB boards together, Fraux estimates that Apple saved 15 percent of the iPhone X’s floor space. That gave Apple room for extra batteries, he added.　　There’s no question that modified semi-additive processes (mSAP) and advanced manufacturing techniques are enabling high-density interconnects in smartphones at lower cost and faster production speeds.　　Yole’s Eloy pointed out the substantial contribution that AT&S’ mSAP technology made to the company’s recent financial results. AT&S last week reported a revenue jump of 24.5 percent to 765.9 million euros in the first three quarters (April 1 to Dec. 31, 2017) compared to the same three quarters in 2016.　　As Fraux explained, mSAP is “used for manufacturing of laminate or build-up substrates, with a premade dielectric sheet and a thin Cu (copper) layer serving as the seed layer prior to further patterning and Cu plating.” The advantage of mSAP is that a much thinner copper layer coats the laminate and plates areas where the resist isn’t applied. mSAP allows trace geometries to be defined via photolithography. The traces are therefore formed more precisely, maximizing circuit density and enabling accurate impedance control with lower signal loss.　　Bosch develops custom IMU for Apple　　Apple’s decision to add an LTE modem in its newest Apple Watch presented a big challenge: the thickness of the watch.　　Fraux identified Bosch Sensortec (Reutlingen / Kusterdingen, Germany) as the company that stepped up and customized an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for the new watch. Bosch reduced IMU thickness from “0.9mm to 0.6mm,” he noted. “This is the market’s thinnest 6-axis IMU.”　　This led to Bosch replacing InvenSense inside the newest iPhone 8 and iPhone X, and supplanting STMicroelectronics (Geneva, Switzerland) for the Apple Watch Series 3.　　These three design wins will give Bosch “hundreds of millions of units in sales per year,” estimated Fraux. This makes Bosch practically “the undisputed leader in MEMS IMU for consumer applications.”　　In a recent report from System Plus Consulting, Fraux observed, “Bosch Sensortec made significant changes — particularly for the accelerometer, where the old single-mass structure was abandoned for a new structure achieving better sensing properties. The micromachining manufacturing process, unchanged by Bosch Sensortec for many years, was also revised, with a new process for both accelerometer and gyroscope.” He added that “a new ASIC die was designed to fuse the data from the accelerometer and gyroscope, and probably to deliver even lower current consumption and other functionalities.”　　Broadcom’s advanced SiP for LTE　　The industry has been obsessed with the battle between Intel and Qualcomm over which will win the modem socket for Apple’s newest iPhones. But we all now know that they move won in iPhone X. In different iPhone X models in different regions, some modem chips will be Intel, some Qualcomm. Ho hum.　　A less-discussed issue, however, is the RF SiP designed for front-end modules in smartphones. Why does this matter?　　Noting that 5G communication technology portends “a new order to the market,” System Plus Consulting explained in its own report that packaging could be “a major domain where performance, integration and cost efficiency will be optimized… as all high-quality competitors are looking for a better way to make high-density front-end communication devices.”　　Fraux highlighted Broadcom/Avago’s advanced RF SiP for the iPhone X. Broadcom developed an unprecedented level of integration — 18 filters close to 30 dies — in its SiP, he explained. Broadcom designed it to accommodate mid and high band in Japan (Band 42, 3.6GHz).　　This Broadcom module is essential for SIM-free phones. Fraux noted that in iPhone X A1865 & A1902, Broadcom & Skyworks supply the front-end modules (FEM). In iPhone X A1901, Broadcom, Skyworks & Epcos are the FEM suppliers.　　Breakthrough optical system in mobile　　When all is said and done, Yole’s Eloy sees iPhone X’s optical system as its genuine advancement. The iPhone X’s TrueDepth camera is enabled by a “complex assembly of five sub-modules” embedded in Apple’s optical hub, as EE Times previously reported.　　The sub-modules are a near-infrared camera supplied by ST, a proximity detector (time-of-flight) + IR flood illuminator by ST, an RGB camera, a dot-pattern illuminator provided by Ams (Unterpremst?tten, Austria), and a color/ambient light sensor developed by Ams. The RGB camera sensor is a product of a “complex supply chain,” observed Fraux, as “Sony provides the CIS, while LG Innotek probably supplies the module.”　　The key to the system is that the IR camera, RGB camera, and dot projector are aligned and designed to work together.　　As Pierre Cambou, activity leader for imaging and sensors at Yole Développement, previously explained to EE Times, to have a 3D camera on the front of the iPhone X to identify its owner’s face and unlock the phone, Apple combined a ToF proximity detector with an infrared “structured light” camera that uses either uniform “flood” or “dot-pattern” illumination.　　The way the 3D system works is very different from a regular CMOS imager taking a photo, he noted. First, the iPhone X combines an infrared camera with a flood illuminator that projects uniform infrared light. It then takes images, which, in turn, trigger a face-detection algorithm.　　This face-recognition function, however, isn’t meant to run all the time. The infrared camera linked to the ToF proximity sensor tells the camera to take a picture when it detects a face. The iPhone X then activates its dot-pattern projector to take an image. Both regular and dot-pattern images then go to the application processing unit (APU), which puts them through a neural network trained to recognize the owner and unlock the phone.　　Fraux noted that in ST's proximity sensor and flood illuminator module, ST is using its own VCSEL (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser).　　Pointing out the five sub-modules lined up at the top of iPhone X, Fraux noted that when Apple considers reducing the size of the iPhone, innovation must come from potential miniaturization or integration of those sub-modules.　　Mystery of one less microphones　　In both iPhone 7 and iPhone 8, Apple used four microphones per handset. They include three front-facing microphones, one on top and two on the bottom, and a rear-facing top microphone.　　Fraux explained the front-facing mic cancels noise, the one in the rear records, and the two bottom mics are for speech.　　Instead of those four microphones, System Plus Consulting found only three in iPhone X. Apple has only one mic at the bottom of the handset, Fraux revealed. Asked why, he told us that he hasn’t solved that mystery yet.　　The three mics inside iPhone X are dual sourced to Goertek (China) and Knowles (Itasca, Ill.) , according to Fraux.
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Release time：2018-02-08 00:00 reading：1347 Continue reading>>
Depth Sensors’ Impact Goes Deeper than iPhone X
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Depth Sensors’ Impact Goes Deeper than iPhone X

　　The FaceID system in the iPhone X has demonstrated how depth sensing can enable facial detection, recognition, and authentication, but potential applications for depth sensors extend beyond those use cases as well as the iOS platform. Qualcomm, for one, has taken its Spectra image signal processor (ISP) technology to the next level with a 3-D depth-sensing camera module for Android developed in collaboration with Apple supplier Himax Technologies.　　Next year could see the emergence of a depth-sensor ecosystem, including firmware and apps, as more smartphone and wearable-device vendors incorporate third-party modules in their designs.　　Qualcomm combined the Spectra imaging technology with Himax’s expertise in wafer optics, sensing, drivers, and module integration to create the SLiM depth sensor for mobile, augmented-reality (AR), virtual-reality (VR), automotive, and surveillance applications. Himax CEO Jordan Wu said his company had been working with Qualcomm for more than four years to develop the 3-D sensing solution.　　Qualcomm’s active depth-sensing module (right) features a depth map with more than 10,000 points of depth and can detect changes in depth as small as 0.1 mm apart. Source: Qualcomm　　The turnkey camera module delivers real-time depth sensing and 3-D point-cloud generation for both indoor and outdoor environments. The computer vision camera module is expected to appear in a number of products in the first quarter of 2018.　　Qualcomm’s integration of low-power Spectra ISPs into its popular mobile processors bolsters the capability of mobile devices to embrace the emerging use cases.　　A depth sensor uses a time-of-flight (TOF) technique to resolve the distance from an object based on the known speed of light. Infrared dots are projected onto an object as a point cloud, and the sensor then reads distortions in the field and gathers depth information.　　Depth-sensor-based approaches have gradually moved toward mobile power requirements for handsets and head-mounted displays. “The technical problem for room-scale 3-D sensing and beyond is power and performance,” said Simon Solotko, senior analyst at Tirias Research. That means managing the power for the sensor and the image signal processor, along with the complex software required to translate point clouds into useful, interactive input.　　The target power for mobile is always as low as possible. As Solotko pointed out, however, active laser illumination in time-of-flight and structured-light solutions requires high power if you want to move beyond facial- and gesture-recognition applications with up to a 2-meter range to serve room-scale and longer-distance applications with a sensing range from 2 to 10 meters.　　Today’s sensor packages are providing high-quality point clouds in the sub-half-watt range for short distances and in the 5-W range for longer distances. Short-range depth sensors have thus fulfilled the requirements for mainstream smartphones, and as the iPhone X demonstrates, targeted and optimized applications serve everyday use cases.　　“But long-range power requirements are too high and have forced designers to adopt purely camera-based approaches” for longer-distance applications, Solotko said.　　Over the past several months, monoscopic multiview technology for consumer AR — in the form of the ARKit and ARCore developer platforms for iOS and Android, respectively — has created excitement among indie developers as well as major players like Amazon. “AR experiences are appealing and useful, and are already expanding the vocabulary of experiences that can be delivered by mobile developers,” said Solotko.　　Microsoft has been active in acquiring and developing intellectual property for AR/VR, and it was early to market with a mobile depth-sensor solution in the HoloLens mixed-reality smart glasses and a camera-based solution in Microsoft Windows Mixed Reality.　　Intel provides the RealSense development platform for gesture-based interfaces and has amassed rich software stacks and design IP for depth-sensing technology. However, according to Solotko, it remains unclear where this technology will ultimately reside — in notebooks, integrated head-mounted displays, or Intel-powered mobile devices.
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Release time：2017-12-11 00:00 reading：1164 Continue reading>>
iPhone X’s TrueDepth Module Dissected
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iPhone X’s TrueDepth Module Dissected

　　Although experts in the imaging industry are aware of a complex “TrueDepth” module that Apple has devised for its iPhone X, most other details inside the device’s 3D system — chips, components, and all the way down to substrates — remain a deep, dark secret.　　EE Times talked to Yole Développement, which completed this week a teardown of Apple iPhone X TrueDepth module in collaboration with its partner, System Plus Consulting. They deduced that silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers are being used in near-infrared (NIR) imaging sensors. They noted that SOI has played a key role in improving the sensitivity of NIR sensors — developed by STMicroelectronics — to meet Apple’s stringent demands.　　Pierre Cambou, activity leader for imaging and sensors at Yole Développement, called the SOI-based NIR image sensors “a very interesting milestone for SOI.”　　Many companies located in France’s so-called Imaging Valley, near Grenoble, have used SOI wafers, developed by Soitec — initially for backside illumination (BSI) sensors. Meanwhile, research on SOI for NIR sensors dates back to 2005, according to Cambou.　　But Apple’s adoption of ST’s NIR sensors marks the debut of SOI in mass production for image sensors, noted Cambou. “Image sensors are characterized by large surface due to the physical size of light. Therefore, this is a great market to be in for a substrate supplier” like Soitec, he added.　　Meanwhile, Jean-Christophe Eloy, Yole's president and CEO, told EE Times that, in designing its TrueDepth module, “Apple took the best of both worlds — STMicroelectronics and Ams.” Apple adopted leading-edge NIR imagers from STMicroelectronics, while it deployed dot illuminators from Ams (Premstaetten, Austria). Eloy noted that Ams is “extremely good at its complex optical module.” Earlier this year, Ams acquired Heptagon, known for its Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology stack.　　Recap on how it works　　Apple put a 3D camera on the front of the iPhone X to identify its owner’s face and unlock the phone.　　As Yole previously explained, to make this possible, Apple combined a ToF proximity detector with an infrared “structured light” camera that can either use a uniform “flood” or “dot-pattern” illumination.　　The way that the 3D system works is very different from a regular CMOS imager taking a photo. First, the iPhone X combines an infrared camera with a flood illuminator that projects uniform infrared light in front of the phone. It then takes images, which, in turn, trigger a face-detection algorithm.　　This face-recognition function, however, isn’t meant to run all the time. The infrared camera linked to the ToF proximity sensor signals the camera to take a picture when it detects a face. The iPhone X then activates its dot pattern projector to take an image.　　Both the regular and dot-pattern images are then sent to the application processing unit (APU), which puts them through a neural network trained to recognize the owner and unlock the phone.　　Yole’s Cambou noted that no 3D image is computed at this point. The 3D information is contained in the dot-pattern image. “To run 3D applications, the same APU can use another algorithm [that] computes the depth map of the image.” He added, “The iPhone X takes advantage of the massive processing power available in the A11 chip, as structured light approaches are known to be computationally intensive. The use of a neural network is the key technology that made it possible.”　　Five sub-modules　　The teardown by Yole and System Plus Consulting has found a “complex assembly of five sub-modules” in Apple’s optical hub. They are: near-infrared camera, proximity detector (Time-of-Flight) + IR flood illuminator, RGB camera, dot-pattern illuminator, and color/ambient light sensor.　　As shown below, the IR camera, RGB camera, and dot projector are all aligned.　　NIR image sensors　　At the heart of Apple’s iPhone X’s optical hub, there is STMicroelectronics’ NIR sensor. Yole and System Plus Consulting found inside ST’s NIR sensor “the use of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) on top of deep-trench isolation (DTI).”　　The idea of DTI technology is well-known. In general, the issue with the high sensor resolutions required in today’s cameras is that pixels are forced inside the same space, creating noise, discoloration, or pixelization of neighboring sensors when capturing a photo. DTI is deployed to prevent leakage between photodiodes. Apple reportedly etched literal trenches between each one, then filled the trenches with insulating material that stops electric current.　　So, on top of DTI, why did Apple want to use SOI wafers for NIR image sensors?　　Optically speaking, Cambou explained that SOI wafers are advantageous because the insulator layer functions like a mirror. “Infrared light penetrates deeper, and it reflects back to the active layer,” he noted.　　Electrically speaking, Cambou noted, SOI improves NIR’s sensitivity largely because it’s good at minimizing leakage within the pixel. The improved sensitivity provides good image contrast.　　Contrast is important because “the structured light operation is disturbed by sunlight,” explained Cambou.　　Of course, regular CMOS image sensors or NIR sensors are “happy to have extra light if the goal is to have a better image,” said Cambou. However, light is a problem when a user tries to unlock an iPhone X under the bright sun.　　“The problem is the contrast of the projected dots of NIR light versus ambient light from the sun or any other light source,” said Cambou. “But the sun is usually the biggest problem.” Hence, it was paramount for Apple to improve NIR’s contrast by using SOI wafers.　　Asked if ST’s NIR sensors are using FD-SOI or SOI wafers, Cambou said that the research firms couldn’t tell.　　As for NIR sensors, do we know if Apple is using 850-nm or 940-nm wavelength NIR? Cambou noted, “We couldn’t determine which.” However, he speculated, “Apple most likely used 850 nm like everyone else (i.e., Intel’s RealSense, Facebook, HTC, and others), but STMicroelectronics is known for developing 940-nm SPAD proximity ranger, so it is a possibility that they intend to move to this wavelength in the future.”　　Asked about surprises unearthed by the teardown, Cambou cited the size of ST’s NIR sensor chip. It measures 25mm2, and has only 1.4 megapixels due to the large 2.8-μm pixel size. Cambou noted, “Nevertheless, in this category, this pixel is considered as ‘a small one’ compared to competitions [that] typically use 3.0 μm to 5 μm.”　　Beginning of the new era　　Yole positions the iPhone X as the beginning of a new era for 3D imaging.　　Cambou also believes that Apple is forging the future for NIR sensors. Pointing out last week’s announced acquisition of InVisage Technologies, he noted, “In my point of view, Apple wanted InVisage for NIR sensor capabilities, although there may be several ways to interpret this acquisition.”　　Cambou doesn’t believe that InVisage could match STMicroelectronics’ product in terms of performance, but it could provide a solution for miniaturization, he noted. “Face ID technology could, therefore, be scaled down for other products such as AR headsets.”　　Business implications　　On one hand, Apple’s iPhone X is creating big opportunities for SOI wafer makers like Soitec. Equally significant is that it has already triggered a meaningful comeback for STMicroelectronics. Cambou is confident that ST will be a player in the emerging ToF camera market.　　Of course, the semiconductor business is often affected by a short cycle of boom-and-bust. But ST, whose business was decimated after it lost Nokia in the mobile phone market, has “made a very elegant transition,” observed Cambou.　　ST has created different types of image sensor applications — moving from CMOS image sensors to NIR and SPAD sensors in the future — all the while leveraging its assets and home-grown underlying technologies.
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Release time：2017-11-20 00:00 reading：1391 Continue reading>>
iPhone X BoM Estimated at $370
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iPhone X BoM Estimated at $370

　　Apple's recently released iPhone X carries a bill-of-materials (BoM) cost of roughly $370.25, the highest ever for an iPhone, according to a teardown analysis conducted by IHS Markit.　　With a retail price of $999, the iPhone X with 64 GB of NAND memory is also the most expensive iPhone to date, allowing Apple to maintain its typically high margins on the device, according to IHS. By comparison, the firm noted that Samsung’s Galaxy S8 with 64 GB of NAND memory has a BoM of $302 and retails at around $720.　　"The iPhone X is the most expensive iPhone ever made, and it has the highest retail price tag of comparable flagship phones, catapulting the smartphone industry to an entirely new price point," said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director of cost benchmarking services at IHS Markit, in a press statement.　　The IHS teardown of the iPhone X follows other teardowns conducted by TechInsights, iFixit and others. The teardowns have found that Apple employed a combination of new and old tricks to pack features into its new flagship smartphone, including two substrate-like PCBs, a two-piece battery and a time-of-flight sensor and IR camera.　　Rassweiler said that while the iPhone X represents Apple's biggest step forward in design since the original iPhone in 2007, the smartphone's underlying architecture is similar to that of the iPhone 8 Plus.　　"Both models share platform-common components, but the X’s superior screen and TrueDepth sensing set the phone apart and contribute to its higher cost," Rassweiler said.
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Release time：2017-11-10 00:00 reading：1226 Continue reading>>
iPhone X Use Which Sensors For Face ID?
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iPhone X Use Which Sensors For Face ID?

　　Apple is getting rid of touch-based fingerprint ID in iPhone X altogether and staking its future on Face ID.　　Putting the new UI in place, Apple is “renewing the [whole] user experience of the smartphone,” observed Pierre Cambou, activity leader for imaging and sensor at market research firm Yole Développement.　　With Face ID, the user simply makes “eye contact” with the new iPhone and it unlocks. The iPhone X can also help turn emojis into animated emojis, or Animoji. Sensors can capture and analyze more than 50 different facial muscle movements, enabling the user to changing the expression of emoji characters such as a panda,  chicken or unicorn. The iPhone X provides a range of on-screen masks, turning the user virtually into someone — or something — else.　　In short, the many sensors deployed in the iPhone X are there primarily for facial ID, but they also enable other apps, including Animoji and Augmented Reality. Cambou believes this versatility is the genius of Apple. “They know their audience well,” he said.　　A host of sensors in iPhone X　　As the picture below shows, a number of sensors integrated into a small space at the top of the iPhone X screen are: an infrared camera, flood illuminator, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, front camera, dot projector, speaker and microphone.　　Cambou acknowledged that he was surprised to see the solution “way more complex than initially envisioned.” Building blocks inside the iPhone X, designed to enable Apple’s TrueDepth camera, include a structured light transmitter, a structure light receiver on the front camera and a time-of- flight/proximity sensor. Cambou said, “Apple managed to have so many technologies, and players behind those technologies, to work together for a very impressive result.”　　Because all these building blocks maintain certain interdependency, an active alignment process must take place among all the modules before final assembly, to ensure accurate operation. Cambou said, “Well done indeed, if they were able to do such complex assembly.”　　The Yole analyst suspects that STMicroelectronics is supplying the infrared camera and the proximity sensor. Apple might have sourced the front camera and the dot projector from AMS, he added.　　While admitting that Apple isn’t — after all — using in iPhone X “ST’s SPAD imager as I dreamed,” Cambou conceded, “Apple combined admirably all the available technologies.”　　How it works　　3D sensing in iPhone X starts at the ToF (time of flight) sensor. Describing ToF as “more or less a presence detector,” Cambou explained that ToF powers up the other sensors, once it detects motion. Next comes a structured light, which calculates the depth and surface information of the objects in the scene.　　Asked about the role of a dot projector, Cambou explained, “One needs to project infrared dots in the scene for a structured camera… so that the infrared camera from ST can pick up the image of the projected dot.”　　While Cambou wasn’t sure what a flood illuminator does, he acknowledged it could be as simple as “some sort of flash,” to bring more light into the scene. “The face has to be seen by the regular camera for recognition,” he added.　　Accuracy and security　　The consensus among analysts is that, in contrast to Samsung, which used a single camera and iris scanning for its face ID in Galaxy S8, Apple is using a far more sophisticated and advanced 3D sensing technology by bringing in a set of different sensors.　　Although some Galaxy S8 users demonstrated that low-quality pictures could easily unlock Samsung’s phone, Apple’s advanced facial recognition technology reportedly knows how to tell the difference between a real face and photograph.　　To demonstrate Apple’s serious investment in Face ID, Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller said, "Face ID learns your face" and can adapt to recognize changes in the user's appearance.　　Schiller said the TrueDepth camera system of the iPhone X combines several sensors, “all mapping the face with 30,000 invisible dots flashed on the visage.” That information feeds the iPhone X's neural network, which creates a mathematical model of the user's face.　　Apple has also worked with Hollywood specialists to test mask attacks, Schiller added.  The chance of a random person being able to unlock a device is one in a million, Schiller said, while with Touch ID the probability is one in 50,000,000. Schiller, however, acknowledged that an evil twin might be able to beat the system.　　Apple also emphasized that a user’s biometric data — fingerprint or face — does not leave his or her device. It’s stored in an encrypted form in the phone’s “Secure Enclave,” where it can’t be accessed by an operating system or any of the apps running on the phone.　　Further improvements?　　Clearly, Apple has developed a well thought-out 3D sensing technology for iPhone X. But "there may be some room for improvement in the future," Cambou noted. Like what? "It needs to handle sunlight... and also stage light."
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Release time：2017-09-14 00:00 reading：1105 Continue reading>>

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