With Face ID being the brand new feature that Apple introduced last year with the iPhone X, it is expected that it will eventually be brought onto other iPhones. A report from last month suggested that all of 2018’s iPhones would be getting it, and now it appears that Apple supplier Finisar might have confirmed it.
This is based on comments made during Finisar’s most recent earnings report, in which the company’s management provided an update on its 700,000 square foot plant in Sherman, Texas. According to them, they estimate that VCSEL production at the facility will be going live in the second half of the year.
So what’s the big deal about a manufacturing plant? According to the rumors, that plant is said to have been purchased in part by Apple’s $390 million infusion from the company as part of Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund. Clearly this isn’t altruistic as Apple expects Finisar to continue supplying them with the necessary components for Face ID.
Plus with production kicking off in the second half of the year, it means that it should be in time for 2018’s iPhones. It is unclear as to what kind of changes Apple might have made to the TrueDepth camera, such as whether or not its accuracy has been improved upon, the speed in which it authenticates users, and so on.