Sony boosting 3D camera sensor orders as Apple shows increased interest

9to5 Staff | Dec 27 2018 - 3:13 pm PT

Sony is organizing a production ramp of 3D camera sensors for next year after seeing increased interest for the technology from major customers including Apple, a report from Bloomberg Quint explains.

The Japanese tech firm is allegedly ramping production of both rear and front 3D camera modules, while also working on separate software toolkits for developers to toy with generating 3D imagery.

The bet on 3D

One of the primary examples of 3D camera tech is Apple’s TrueDepth camera sensor featured on iPhone X devices or later. The cameras can work to analyze depth and three-dimensionally map objects, such as a face or full body.

The news of increased supplier interest comes as a much-needed relief to the flailing mobile camera industry. Sony has seen ailing revenues since 2015 as camera gains made each year yield less and less overt differences to the untrained eye.

The report goes on,

To be sure, demand for Sony’s technology is untested and it remains to be seen if consumer interest in 3D will be enough to snap the smartphone market out of its funk. Annual global shipments probably fell 3 percent in 2018 with growth of just 2.6 percent expected in 2019, according to IDC. Yoshihara also said there will only be a need for two 3D chips on devices, for the front and back, despite a trend by smartphone makers to have three or more cameras

In April, we reported on Apple’s plans to develop both an AR/VR headset capable of pushing a massive 16K resolution — untethered from any iPhone or Mac. Whether that product ever makes it out of Cupertino remains to be seen, but it’s clear the 3D tech is all in goal of Apple’s future vision with augmented reality. It’s something that the company has said believes is much more important than virtual reality.

Are you excited about 3D camera technology, or do you still view Apple’s bet on AR to be a loser? Let us know down below in the comments!