According to a new report from Korean news outlet The Bell, Israeli startup Mantis Vision is teaming up with camera module maker Namuga to develop 3D sensing camera technology for Samsung. The camera would be implemented into the Galaxy S10 (providing that’s what Samsung decides to call its next flagship phone).
Namuga currently supplies Samsung with camera modules for its low-end and mid-range smartphones, such as the Galaxy A and Galaxy J, but the firm may be due to move up to the high-end line next year. Apple added a 3D sensing camera to the iPhone X last year, as the Face ID facial recognition system took the place of Touch ID.
Samsung has toyed with facial recognition in recent years, but the technology isn’t advanced enough for its to serve as a full (or reliably secure) replacement for the fingerprint scanner. But Mantis Vision may give Samsung the ability to go all in on 3D sensing cameras, as the company’s 3D mapping technology was used in Google’s Project Tango AR platform. If it’s good enough for Google, it should be good enough for the next Samsung phone.
While specifications are still to be determined, industry sources say that Samsung is likely to adopt the 3D technology and feature it in the Galaxy S10 in 2018, which just so happens to be the 10th anniversary of the Galaxy series.
At this point, it’s really only a matter of time before Samsung and other major Android vendors match Apple with 3D sensing cameras of their own. We’ve already seen what happens when Apple carves a notch out of its display — the question is whether or not Samsung’s feature will be as reliable as Face ID.
