Apple seems to have some interesting new features cooking up for the iPhone 8, with the latest HomePod leak revealing that there’s a SmartCam scene selection tool in the works. The company may also be planning on integrating Face ID with Apple Pay.
Developer Guilherme Rambo found mentions of SmartCam hidden between strings of code in the HomePod’s firmware. It hints at the feature being used by the new iOS 11 Camera app or specifically the iPhone 8 to gauge a particular scene and tune settings accordingly.
The code mentions a number of different scenarios like Baby, Document, Fireworks, Snow, Sport, Foliage, Fireworks, Bright Stage, Sunrise, Sunset, Pet, QR, and Sky. This could mean that the iPhone 8’s camera will look out for these objects when shooting snaps and intelligently adjust settings to capture the best shot.
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Such options are common in cameras and some smartphones, but people typically have to opt for that particular mode to be activated. Apple’s SmartCam might just skip that step and choose the appropriate settings without being told to. The brand is probably going to utilize a Neural Engine processor in future iPhones specifically for such AI tasks.
The other big piece of news relates to the iPhone 8’s facial recognition skills. Codenamed as Pearl ID in the HomePod’s firmware, the authentication tool has popped up among Apple Pay’s code in the form of ‘pearl.field-detect’ and ‘pearl.pre-arm,’ both assumed to be references to the so-called Face ID feature.
There has been a considerable amount of confusion over whether Apple was planning on ditching Touch ID completely in favor of Face ID. The strings above suggest that this may indeed be happening. The decision has already caused an outcry among fans who prefer the former and are doubtful about the effectiveness of the latter.