iOS developer Steve Troughton-Smith has come through yet again.
The developer has leaked an image of a new avatar generation embedded within an iOS 12 developer beta intended for the iPad that requires a TrueDepth camera system, lending credence to rumors that FaceID iPads are coming sooner rather than later.
Troughton-Smith noted that AvatarKit, Apple’s framework for operating its Animoji and Memoji features as well as other functions, has been altered in iOS 12 to support an iPad-size screen. A screenshot supplied with the post shows what appears to be the main interface for producing Animoji, but on the larger iPad-style screen.
It seems that the current interface has yet to perform facial tracking in its current implementation, Troughton-Smith noting the hardware required for it to function is similar to the iPhone X’s sensor array. It is suggested that this would effectively be “an iPad with Face ID,” equipped with the TrueDepth camera or something similar to it.
Rumors of an iPad Pro with a TrueDepth camera have been in circulation for a while, a note form on investor memo suggestion at that time that new upgrades were close to mass production with a summer release in mind. In January, code found in the first iOS 11.3 beta includes mentions of a “Modern” iPad, originally believed to refer to the supposed Face ID iPad Pro, but could have also related to the iPad refresh that took place a few months later.
Apple is expected to expand its Face ID technology to its 2018 iPhone models this fall, as all three models also rumored to incorporate a TrueDepth camera.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and Twitter