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It looks like more and more third party developers are starting to make use of the iPhone X’s TrueDepth front camera that was originally implemented on the device for Apple’s FaceID unlocking feature. Yesterday, Bellus3D launched a 3D face scanning app for the iPhone X. Today, Snapchat has delivered an update to its iOS app which lets iPhone X users decorate their selfie images with augmented reality masks that take advantage of Apple’s advanced facial mapping technology.
Apple’s TrueDepth front camera will help the masks more realistically superimpose onto the user’s face, and face motion will be tracked more precisely than for Snapchat users with other mobile devices. To start with, there are three Snapchat lenses that utilize the TrueDepth technology: a Mardi Gras-style mask, a Day of the Dead skull, and a gold-plated eye cover. More masks are expected to be made available in the near future.
The TrueDepth camera also allows for DSLR-style blurring of the background, and more accurate application of small details and 3D objects that reflect and react to ambient light in the image.
If you happen to own the iPhone X, let us know in the comments how the new feature works for you. With similar technologies being adopted by other smartphone makers, we’d hope the new Snapchat masks make it to Android devices (at least high-end ones) in the nearer future as well. Snapchat for iOS can be downloaded free of charge from the App Store.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)