When Apple unveiled the iPhone X back in September, it cited the playful Animoji feature as an experience that’s only possible thanks to the exclusive TrueDepth camera.
So it came as a shock when some iPhone X reviewers began claiming the feature — which morphs the user’s face into an animated emoji — could conceivably work on other iPhones.
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In his review noted YouTuber Marques Brownlee initially claimed Apple wasn’t actually using 3D depth data to create the Animojis.
He showed Animojis working while covering the depth sensor on the iPhone X, claiming the effect could be achieved simply by using the front-facing camera present on any iPhone.
“They totally could have made these available for any other iPhone,” he asserts at 11:40 in this video:
Surely Apple wouldn’t falsely assert a feature could only physically work on one device to make the iPhone X appear to be a bigger deal?
Absolutely not, according to the company itself.
The firm contacted Brownlee to assure Animoji DO use the infrared and depth sensors in order to assure better accuracy for the Animoji.
Update: Talked to Apple about Animoji: It does actually use data from the IR and depth sensors for better accuracy. Apple told me they wouldn’t want a worse Animoji experience for other iPhones without those sensors. Props to @reneritchie for this article: https://t.co/Yml7SQ54Eq
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) November 15, 2017
iMore also reveals the Animoji feature users the IR sensor ‘to periodically update the depth map,’ adding independent credence to Apple’s retort
Essentially Brownlee wasn’t completely incorrect in his assertion, but it appears the feature wouldn’t function as well/if at all if Apple made it available on other iPhones.
Have you made much use of Animoji on the new iPhone X? Would you like to see it on other iPhones? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
