After years of incremental innovation, the smartphone industry recently began rolling out novel features like the fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5 and the curved display in the Samsung Galaxy Round. But gadget lovers looking for a good reason to upgrade may want to hold out for the next generation of iPhones or iPads. According to interviews with sensor and camera makers, devices that include 3D cameras could be landing in consumers’ hands sometime in late 2014.
Tal Dagan, vice president of marketing for PrimeSense, which makes the leading 3D sensor available today, initially declined to comment on the timelines of PrimeSense’s OEM partners. “I don’t believe any small vendor such as we would know accurately anyway,” he said. But Dagan also didn’t want to leave the impression that a competitor would be first to market. “I can say we are deeply involved with a couple of projects, and, yes, I think you will see 3D capabilities in a phone or tablet in 2014,” he conceded.
Last night, two weeks after my interview with Dagan, an Israeli newspaper published a report that PrimeSense had been bought by Apple for $345 million. AllThingsD reported today that an offer has been made, and a deal is expected to close by the end of this week.
Companies like Qualcomm are already creating the software that developers will need to incorporate 3D sensor data into mobile games and augmented reality apps. And judging from the success of a recent Kickstarter campaign for a 3D sensor that attaches to the outside of an iPad, the public can’t wait to get their hands on the technology. Occipital, a San Francisco-based startup, initially sought $100,000 for the Structure Sensor it built on top of PrimeSense. In less than four weeks, it raised almost $1.3 million.
Your new post is loading...
As of right now, Apple is set to buy a 3D sensing company on top of the PrimeSense that was also recently bought. As these companies gear up for 3D software that needs to be incorporated into mobile games an diferent apps. So are you going to go out and buy that iPhone that's on your wish list or will you wait until the 3D sensor as an upgrade to the technology, we have already come to know and love.