Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 10 on August 7th, although we already know most of its secrets. Like the fact that it’ll come in two sizes, each one featuring a triple-lens camera array on the back — the bigger Note is tipped to get an additional camera sensor. A brand new report does say that the Note 10 will feature a Time-of-Flight (ToF) camera on the back, from the same source that hinted at the same upgrade a few weeks ago.
ETNews said in mid-May that Samsung is securing ToF lens supplies for the Galaxy Note 10, a camera tech that can deliver a variety of feature that can make use of depth information, from portrait modes to 3D facial recognition to augmented reality (AR) — not that we expect the Note 10 to support 3D face recognition like its biggest rival.
Samsung already used ToF lenses in a 2019 flagship, the Galaxy S10 5G that’s available for purchase in several markets where 5G networks went live this year.
The same source said earlier this week that a secondary Samsung supplier is constructing a new plant in Vietnam, just like MCNEX. KOLEN’s facility would cost $21.6 million, with construction set to finish by the end of July, with production set to start in August.
The new plant is expected to produce 12 million lenses per month, nearly doubling KOLEN’s capacity. ETNews explains that the reason why KOLEN invested in the new facility is its partnership with Samsung, which currently manufactures more than half of its smartphones in the country.
A representative of the company said it plans to produce “lenses through our new plant in Vietnam according to Samsung Electronics’ plan to expand application of ToF lenses for its smartphones.”
Samsung isn’t the only company making use of ToF lenses in ever more complex smartphone camera systems, so expect to see ToF sensors on plenty of 2019 flagships, not just the Note 10.
