Snippet: iPhone XR: A Deep Drive Into Depth ☇

Ben Sandofsky explains how the iPhone XR (and others) processes depth for portraits and the development process for making Halide provide capabilities beyond Apple’s own app:

With the introduction of iPhone XR, every phone in Apple’s lineup now supports depth capture. But the XR is unique: it’s the first iPhone to do it with a single lens. As we were starting to test and optimize Halide for it, we found both advantages and disadvantages.

The whole thing is a really fascinating read, especially with example photos to demonstrate the points. There’s also some discussion of how the iPhone XR relates to other iPhones and even the Pixel 3, another single-lens phone that takes pictures with a “portrait” effect.