However, as found by DigiTimes, reports from the North American giant’s supply chains point out that all cell phone models launched by the company in 2021, whether they are the iPhone 13 line or even an alleged iPhone 12S, will feature a LiDAR sensor in the rear camera array.
Apple has adopted the dToF LiDAR scanner in the iPad Pro and iPhone 12 Pro series, and is expected to apply the scanner technology to all of its iPhone 2021 models, which will remain available with Face ID sensors, the sources said.
Another point addressed in the reports is that the American company has signed a contract with Sony to supply LiDAR sensors for iPhones that are valid until 2023, which indicates that at least three more series of Apple phones will be able to count on the technology.
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LiDAR sensors on Apple smartphones are responsible for performing 3D mapping of a scenario and, thus, helping augmented reality applications to deliver more improved solutions. One of its applications in practice was demonstrated by Snapchat, which created an exclusive filter for Apple devices that uses the technology present in the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.