Face IDSource: Rene Ritchie/iMore

What you need to know

  • A Barclay's research note suggests that Apple's iPhone 12 may come with a "refreshed" Face ID camera.
  • They also suggested that Apple is planning to do away with the Lightning connector in 2021.
  • Previous rumors have suggested Apple may take the iPhone completely wireless next year.

A Barclay's research note suggests that Apple's next iPhone may debut with a "refreshed" Face ID setup.

According to MacRumors:

iPhone 12 models will feature a "refreshed" front-facing TrueDepth system that benefits Apple supplier Lite-On Semiconductor, according to Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis, Thomas O'Malley, and Baylie Harri. This suggests that Face ID could be improved on iPhone 12 models, but no specific details were provided.

Previous rumors have already suggested that the next iPhone may come with a new Face ID configuration, possibly with a smaller notch to maximize display size.

The report further suggests that Apple's iPhone 12 "Pro" models will feature a 3D-sensing time-of-flight camera and 6GB of RAM, these are already-reported specs for the upcoming iteration of iPhone.

The rumor that Apple's long term goal is to get rid of ports on the iPhone entirely is also not new, having been reported in October of last year. Barclays suggested that if Apple were to remove Lightning connectors from its iPhones altogether, it would mean that the wired EarPods that currently ship with the iPhone would be removed for... obvious reasons.

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Whilst this latest rumor from Barclays does indeed corroborate with previous rumblings we've heard about the iPhone 12 (and beyond), there's no indication as to what the source of this information is. It's highly possible that Barclay's own research is based on existing industry speculation and already-reported rumors.