iPhone X forced the company Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), to take a last-minute measure to be able to increase the production of his phone and cover the current demand on the market. We all know how many problems the Apple company had with the iPhone X production until now and how much it struggled to solve them, but now it had to take a desperate measure to be able to bring more units available on the market.
iPhone X problems were closely linked to the TrueDepth camera which has laser and infrared sensors to create a 3D map of our face. The components for this iPhone X camera were so difficult to produce that the production of the phone was held up, and Apple managed to allow its partners to increase their production by reducing the specifications for these components.
For iPhone X by Apple imposed very strict checks for the 3D camera components, with a small margin of tolerance, and this made it difficult to test the components and produce almost perfect modules. changing the specifications for these components allows Apple's partners to test the components faster and produce them with more imperfections.
iPhone X – last-minute desperate measure to increase production
It seems that the sensor that projects 30.000 laser points on our faces is very difficult to produce and very fragile, its testing being extremely difficult. We are talking about a microscopic laser and glass lenses, the very strict production specifications imposed by Apple forcing one of the 3 production partners to give up the contract, Apple being left with only one to supply the components.
"Apple came up with a solution: It quietly told suppliers they could reduce the accuracy of the face-recognition technology to make it easier to manufacture. Precision is key. If the microscopic components are off by even several microns, a fraction of a hair's breadth, the technology might not work properly, according to people with knowledge of the situation."
The fragility of this laser sensor used in the iPhone X Front 3D camera generated problems not only in production, but also for those who integrated the component into the complete camera module. Apple's very strict requirements for the production of this laser almost stopped production entirely, so the Americans had to give up some requirements in order to have some iPhone X units for sale.
The change made by Apple for the components of the iPhone X camera will lead to an increase in production, but no one knows in what way the quality of the camera will be affected. It is possible that Face ID will no longer perform facial recognition as well, accurately, or as quickly in the new phone, so it will be interesting to see how the functionality will be affected, the change will certainly have other effects.
