Apple's 3D recognition is two years ahead of Qualcomm, but Android manufacturers are not interested in mobile phone 3D

This fall, Apple will release a new 10th-generation phone, which will integrate 3D facial recognition technology and replace fingerprint recognition as the most important means of identity recognition. Among smartphone manufacturers, Apple will also become one of the early adopters of 3D sensors and scanning recognition. According to foreign media reports, well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently pointed out in a report that in the field of 3D scanning recognition, Apple's technology is about two years ahead of Qualcomm.

According to AppleInsider, a US technology news website, most Android phone manufacturers need professional manufacturers such as Qualcomm to provide components and solutions. Currently, Qualcomm has developed two new innovative mobile phone technologies, namely 3D scanning recognition and under-screen fingerprint recognition technology.

In a recent research report, Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known analyst at Taiwan's KGI Investment Consulting, said that Qualcomm is the company that has invested the most resources in 3D sensor technology for Android phones. However, Qualcomm's technology is not yet mature, for example, the algorithm is not perfect, and there are also design and thermodynamic problems in hardware design. Kuo believes that large-scale delivery of Qualcomm's related components will have to wait until 2019.

This year, Apple will launch 3D recognition technology in its new mobile phones. If Qualcomm can only deliver components and technology in 2019, it means that Qualcomm is about two years behind.

The so-called 3D scanning recognition is the ability to identify the 3D external contours of faces or objects based on traditional plane recognition. For example, the system can scan a three-dimensional face, thereby greatly increasing the accuracy of recognition. This technology also avoids the problem of deceiving the plane recognition system with a photo in the past.

It is reported that Qualcomm's 3D recognition technology uses structured light technology, which shines infrared light on an object, and the system analyzes the reflected light to identify the depth information of the object. The subsequent algorithm will present a complete 3D outline.

Guo Mingchi also said that Android phone manufacturers are still taking a wait-and-see attitude towards 3D recognition technology. They are not sure whether the 3D recognition launched in Apple’s 10th anniversary edition mobile phone will have a good user experience and reputation.

In the field of smartphones, if you try out new technologies, you will naturally take certain risks. For example, Apple once launched pressure-sensitive screen technology in smartphones, which triggered some mobile phone manufacturers to follow suit. Users can use it as a new input method by pressing the screen hard, but pressure-sensitive screens are generally regarded as useless and the user experience is average.

Guo Mingchi said that the hesitation about 3D recognition technology will also lead some Android phone manufacturers (including Xiaomi) to embed this technology in their products.

Guo Mingchi also disclosed in the report that in Qualcomm's 3D recognition technology solution, Himax helped Qualcomm develop related hardware technology, while Qualcomm itself focused on software development. It is reported that in order to promote the differentiated design of products, Qualcomm also avoided a series of Apple suppliers in 3D recognition.

Apple is not the first company to apply 3D technology to smartphones. Previously, Amazon also entered the smartphone field and introduced 3D technology in its products to achieve a better mobile gaming experience. However, this technology was also considered useless and had very limited uses. It was reported that Amazon wasted a lot of resources and time in developing this technology. In the end, Amazon's mobile phone suffered a disastrous defeat and has now withdrawn from the market.

It will be worth watching whether Apple’s mobile phone 3D will suffer the same fate as Amazon and whether the 3D scanning recognition is stable and smooth enough.

It should be pointed out that Apple has entered the field of augmented reality. According to reports, Apple may launch related products through two modes. One is to rely on this year's 10th anniversary edition mobile phone to launch an augmented reality experience similar to the mobile game Pokemon GO. In addition, Apple is also developing independent products such as helmets or glasses, which will also cooperate with smartphones, but the product size is also larger and the portability may be slightly worse.

It is reported that the 3D scanning recognition in the 10th edition of the mobile phone is also a technical component of Apple's augmented reality development.