iPhone 12 To Get Faster Face ID, Improved Digital Zoom

Apple's next major event is less than 48 hours away but it seems there's still some room for last-minute leaks and tips. Much about the iPhone 12 series, including the iPhone 12 mini moniker, has been going around the Internet for quite a while but, as they say, the devil is in the details. And since this is Apple we're talking about, each of those details count. A lot of attention has been lavished on the iPhone 12's cameras but apparently, even the TrueDepth Face ID camera may have something interesting to offer this year.

Apple has been more stingy when it comes to upgrading the iPhone's front-facing camera and, for a time, there were rumors that this year will have some rather big changes. @PineLeaks, a Twitter account operated by Max Weinbach, dashes those hopes but still leaves some good news for iPhone 12 hopefuls.

The TrueDepth camera system won't be redesigned as earlier rumored but it will come in a more compact form at least in the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini. That will result in a narrower notch that is, unfortunately, taller instead. A "dynamic zoning algorithm" will also be available to make face unlock operations even faster than ever before.

There are also some "confirmed" features for the iPhone 12's main cameras, including improved zooming capabilities. That will still mostly be software-based, though, one that involves stacking together photos taken at different zoom levels. Apple's Deep Fusion AI will also play a hand in aligning and sharpening while HDR 3 performs color and brightness adjustments.

Macro shots are slowly becoming trendy but few phone makers want to dedicate a separate camera for that. Apple has reportedly decided to use the Ultra-Wide camera on the iPhone 12 Pro Max for that purpose. Whether the other iPhone 12 models get a similar feature, however, we'll have to wait on October 13 to find out.