sensor

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on sensor:

Don’t expect 2018 iPhones to pack rear-facing 3D sensors

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iPhone 8 Plus
They're just not ready to deliver next-generation AR.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple won’t integrate rear-facing 3D sensors in this year’s iPhone lineup, according to one reliable analyst. Earlier predictions suggested the company would make the upgrade in an effort to deliver even greater augmented reality experiences.

Ming-Chi Kuo says the technology just isn’t ready for the iPhone.

‘iPhone 9’ leak hints at big camera improvements

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iPhone 9 camera leak
iPhone 9 could pack Apple's best camera yet.
Photo: Slashleaks

You’ll miss out on a secondary rear-facing camera if you opt for the more affordable “iPhone 9” this fall, but the single sensor you will get could be Apple’s best yet.

An apparent spy shot of the device corroborates claims that it will pack an even larger camera lens for snapping better photos and videos. You can also expect optical image stabilization for enhanced low-light performance.

‘Romeo and Juliet’ to blame for iPhone X’s latest production woes

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Juliet
Romeo and Juliet sensor components are to blame.
Photo: 20th Century Fox

The TrueDepth facial recognition 3D sensor is reportedly the latest manufacturing bottleneck when it comes to the iPhone X, and is causing Apple’s suppliers to turn out just “tens of thousands” of finished handsets per day — against possible preorders of 40-50 million.

A new report sheds a bit more light on the exact problem being faced by Apple’s suppliers. Apparently, it relates to a pair of components dubbed Romeo and Juliet, which make up the sensor in question.

Face ID sensor is latest pain point for iPhone X production

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Face ID
iPhone X production is no walk in the park for Apple.
Photo: Apple

If you wonder why you can’t get your hands on an iPhone X until well into 2018, you may have its facial recognition 3D sensor to blame, a new report claims.

Citing two executives working for iPhone X suppliers, the report states that the new sensor’s yield rate is failing to reach a satisfactory level. As a result, just “tens of thousands” of iPhone X handsets are currently being produced daily. For a handset that could have preorders of 40-50 million that’s not good!

Apple suppliers confirm two of iPhone 8’s biggest features

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iPhone 8 facial recognition
We could be waiting a long time for iPhone 8.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple supplier Largan says it will ship its new 3D sensors in time for iPhone 8, while another supply chain vendor confirms waterproof wireless charging technology.

Largan’s sensors are capable of carrying out facial and iris recognition and provide an alternative to fingerprint scanning. They could be the solution Apple turns to if it is unable to embed a Touch ID scanner beneath the iPhone 8’s display.

Flip off meter maids with AwareCar, an app for better parking

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It's just the size of a quarter, but this $9 dongle can supercharge your parking.
It's just the size of a quarter, but this $9 dongle can supercharge your parking.
Photo: Aware Stack

If you have trouble finding your car in a busy garage, or always find yourself coming back to a lapsed parking meter and a ticket stuck under your windshield wiper, you’re in luck. A new Bluetooth sensor, in combination with an iPhone app, can make losing your car and racking up fines a thing of the past.

The future of video chat is totally touchy-feely

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Haptic feedback is a major component in this new technology invented at the University of Tokyo.
Photo: Shinoda Lab
haptic-touch
Haptic feedback is a major component in this new technology invented at the University of Tokyo. Photo: Shinoda Lab

HaptoClone is a new creation from researchers in the Shinoda Lab at the University of Tokyo that can let you practically feel what isn’t actually in front of you. It at least gives you the illusion that you’re feeling it. The technology is trippy in theory, but in practice it very well may lead to a more personal level of communication through our smartphones and computers – or dare I say more intimate.

Surprise! This year’s iPads all likely to have Touch ID

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Apple wants to design its own Touch ID and display chips.
Image courtesy of iFixit.
Photo: iFixit

When the iPhone 5s was announced as featuring Touch ID, you could have been forgiven for assuming that the iPad Air and iPad mini would naturally follow suit. Like original thinking from Samsung, however, it never quite materialized — and to this date Apple’s flagship iPhone is the only Apple device to incorporate the technology.

That may be set to change with the arrival of the next generation iPad Air and iPad mini, though.

Get ready to run: The first of Wahoo’s next-gen Bluetooth heart-rate sensors is here

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Wahoo’s first heart-rate sensor was of the pedestrian ANT+ variety, and connected to the iPhone through a 30-pin ANT+ dongle. Around a year later, the Atlanta-based outfit introduced the first heart-rate sensor that connected to a smartphone through Bluetooth; specifically and only to the iPhone 4s, since that was the only phone at the time with Bluetooth 4.0 under the hood.

Wahoo upped the ante again in January at CES, when they revealed a radical departure from traditional heart-rate based fitness tracking: Their new highly sophisticated, three-model TICKR sensor squad, combined with an all-new app that turns conventional fitness-tracking on its head. Now the first of the TICKR trio, the TICKR Run, is hitting the street.

Purported iPad 5 Gets Pictured With A Touch ID Sensor

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Touch ID has received all kinds of praise since it made its debut on the iPhone 5s last month, so naturally, the question everyone’s asking is whether the new fingerprint-scanning technology will make its way to other iOS devices.

We’ve already seen evidence that suggests it will come to the second-generation iPad mini, and the blurry picture above seems to prove that Touch ID is also coming to the fifth-generation iPad, alongside its all-new design.

Introducing The World’s First Wearable And Programmable Sensing Computer [Deals]

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The Swiss Army knife is one of the best creations ever. You have so many tools at your disposal with it that it makes a lot of sense to have one handy. Now Cult of Mac Deals is offering you what could be considered a digital Swiss Army knife of sorts in the Sensordrone.

Sporting 11 sensors for your smartphone, the Sensordrone fits right on your key chain and has tons of applications that can be used anytime and anywhere. Whether you want to administer your own breathalyzer, check for gas leaks, or get incredibly local weather information, the Sensordrone has you covered. And you can get the Sensordrone for just $149 during this limited time offer.

iPhone 5S To Get Sapphire Crystal Home Button With Fingerprint Sensor [Rumor]

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iPhone-home-button

The iPhone 5S could come with a sapphire crystal capacitive touch home button that incorporates a new fingerprint sensor, according to supply chain sources in Taiwan.

Apple is expected to do away with the traditional physical home button, which has long been one of the most unreliable components on iOS devices. It’s thought that using sapphire crystal, which has a hardness second only to diamond, will prevent the button from getting scratched and ruining the fingerprint sensor.

Hey, Chillax! HeartMath Wants To Help You Fight Anxiety With Your iDevice

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It’s taken three years, but HeartMath has finally responded, in the form of a major redesign, to the concerns we (and probably other critics) voiced over their original emWave stress-management gadget.

Where the emWave required plugging in to a USB port and cost $300, their new Inner Balance system works with pretty much any 30-pin iDevice and sells for just $99.

Netgear VueZone Wireless Video Monitoring System: Super-Easy, But Low on Frills [Review]

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As video surveillance goes, Netgear’s VueZone system is about as easy and user-friendly as it gets. But does VueZone sacrifice power and performance for ease-of-use? We tested the two-camera system, which cam with two motion-detecting cameras, four magnetic mounts and the master gateway for $290. It also came with a one-month trial subscription to the Premier service subscription; the no-frills Basic service, which allows you to montitor up to two cameras remotely from your computer, is free.

Outdoor Research Sensor Gloves Work Like Magic, Mostly [Review]

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I have a complicated relationship with gloves. On the one hand, I love that they keep my fingers from falling off in frigid weather. But then there’s the frustration at their complete lack of cooperation when I’m trying to use the touchscreen on my phone. As a result, I end up either constantly removing and re-donning my gloves in an endless cycle that freezes my delicate fingers anyway — or abandoning my phone altogether in disgust.

The problem is that most touchscreens rely on our fingers to act as conductors, and conventional gloves block that conductivity. But glove-makers have rolled with the times, and there are solutions — gloves that allow conductivity to pass through the glove’s fabric and onto the screen. One of the most buzzed about is Outdoor Research’s Sensor Gloves ($69), which use real leather that doesn’t appear or feel any different than leather used in non-conductive gloves.

The LUMOback Sensor Can Help You Improve Your Posture [Macworld 2013]

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macworldbug

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD/iWORLD 2013

Keeping your posture in check likely isn’t something you often think about on a daily basis. With so many things going on everyday, you may not realize just how bad your posture is, though. That’s where the LUMOback sensor comes in.

The LUMOback is essentially a belt that you wear which detects exactly how you sit and stand throughout the day, and records the data to a companion iOS app. In addition, the sensor will vibrate to tell you if you’ve been sitting or standing poorly for too long.

Size Does Matter, At Least When We’re Talking Camera Sensors

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That's what she said.
That's what she said.

So, check this out. The folks behind CameraSize, a clever little web site that compares camera specifications with easily viewable images for size comparison, have created SensorSize. Ever wondered what the camera on your iPhone 4S is packing? How about comparing it to other smartphones, point and shoot phones, or – gasp – actual DSLR cameras?

SensorSize will do it all, with a nice little infographic, as you can see above.

Add ‘Shake To Undo’ To A Mac [OS X Tips]

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shake2undo

Here’s a fun, kinda crazy way to use the sudden motion sensors that come in some Mac notebooks, like the newer unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros. These sudden motion sensors are used by Apple to detect when a laptop with a physical spinning hard drive is dropped, and therefore this tip won’t work on the 2010 or 2011 MacBook Airs that shipped with flash-based, non-spinning SSDs. Using a third-party app, you can pick up your laptop and give it a shake-to-undo option, just like the one on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.