A major new feature in this fall’s iPhone 12 is rumored to be a LiDAR scanner. A concept artist created a series of images showing what this change might look like.
This scanner would enable the next high-end iPhone models to create an accurate 3D map of their location, greatly improving augmented reality applications.
iPhone 12 Pro with LiDAR
Analysts talking to sources in Apple’s supply chain have been predicting iPhones and iPads with 3D scanners for over a year. These were partially confirmed this week when the 2020 iPad Pro was unveiled with a LiDAR. An iPhone 12 Pro with the same 3D scanner could well be on the docket for this fall.
If it is, it might look like these mockups created by svetapple.sk.
The newest iPad Pro has two camera lenses and the LiDAR scanner. The iPhone 12 Pro concept device has three lenses plus the 3D scanner.
Apple says the LiDAR scanner in the 2020 iPad makes it “the world’s best device for augmented reality.” AR overlays computer-generated images onto the real world, and therefore needs to know exactly where real-world objects are.
Larger iPhone screens, too
svetapple.sk also created a concept image showing the iPhone 12 Pro with a 6.1-inch screen, an increase from the 5.8-inch screen in the iPhone 11 Pro.. This is apparently wishful thinking on the part of this artist, as previous information leaking out about this model indicates it’ll stay at 5.8 inches. The iPhone 12 Pro Max, on the other hand, is rumored to make a jump to a 6.7-inch display, up from the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s 6.5-inch screen.
A concept infographic for the upcoming handset by this same artist predicts an Apple A14 Bionic processor, 6GB of RAM, and a USB-C port in place of the current Lightning port.
Other rumored changes appearing in these concept renders are flatter edges — Apple is supposedly doing away with rounded edges in the upcoming iOS models.
