Snap developing iPhone 12 Lidar applications, says TechCrunch
Apple's demonstration of LiDAR on the iPhone 12 included an augmented reality experience, left, in which a person can interact with animated objects. Snap is making that filter for its Snapchat program.
TechCrunch's Sarah Perez reported this afternoon that an image seen in Apple's iPhone 12 Pro demonstration today was that of Snaptchat's filter developed especially for the phone, citing confirmation by the company.
Apple unveiled four models of iPhone 12 today. The two pricier models, the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, each have come with a rear-facing Lidar sensor, which stands for "light detection and ranging," a means of gauging the depth of a scene by the time-of-flight of beams of light reflected from an object in the distance.
In the video of Apple's iPhone 12 event, around 59:41, the demonstration of Lidar shows a screen shot of an application that has a person with animated birds landing in their hand. Writes Perez, "We understand this is the exact Lens Snapchat has in the works, but the company is holding further details for the time being. However, it shows what a Lidar-enabled Snapchat experience would feel like."
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro will be available to preorder on Friday, Oct. 16, with deliveries a week later on Oct. 23, while the Mini and the Pro Max will go on sale Nov. 6, and start shipping on Nov. 13.