Apple's 2019 iPhone model will be equipped with a triple-lens rear camera in 2019, according to Korean website Etnews.com, citing industry sources.
The rear triple camera will add to the new iPhone a 3D sensing capability. In terms of specifications, the new camera setup is said to be more advanced that the one installed in the front side of the current iPhone X model -- the TrueDepth system. while the front camera will be used for unlocking the device, the rear camera setup will be used for augmented reality purposes, the report claims.
Triple-lens camera systems can enable advanced 3D sensing via stereoscopic vision, with two of the sensors able to capture images of a single object from different angles. A triangulation method would then be used to obtain the distance between the iPhone and the object.
Jesset Taunch Chippak Korea (JSCK), a Korean investment company in China, is reportedly behind the development of a 3D sensing module that could be part of the triple camera system of the new iPhone. The JSCK plans to finalize the development of related modules by early next year and start mass-production sometime in the end of the second quarter of 2019. If the module meets Apple's requirements, it could be a choice for Apple, which currently uses module from other suppliers such as LG Innotek.
Apple has used infrared (IR) light in the iPhone's front-facing camera 3D sensing, but is expected to use a different light source for the rear camera since in order to increase the range of the camera's sensing.