“A new rumor out of Apple’s supply chain over the weekend suggests future iterations of the HomePod could come with 3D-sensing cameras supporting Face ID, similar to the front-facing technology on the iPhone X,” Mitchel Broussard reports for MacRumors.
“Specifically, Inventec Appliances president David Ho mentioned recently that the company sees a trend towards both facial and image recognition technology being incorporated into smart speakers, without specifying which speakers in particular,” Broussard reports. “Ho made the comment following Inventec’s latest earnings conference, and analysts listening predict that he was likely referring to ‘the next generation of Apple’s HomePod.'”
Broussard reports, “Given the company’s ties to Apple, analyst Jeff Pu predicts Ho’s comments could suggest a Face ID-enabled HomePod in 2019.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: TrueDepth camera systems everywhere (hold the notch, put ’em in the bezels and frames, please)!
There are obviously significant benefits to having the HomePod (and other Apple products) be able to identify who’s in the room for such things as Apple Music, music listening preferences, home automation (lighting, locks, thermostat, etc.), shopping (Apple Pay), security, etc.)