The iPhone 8 will put your head in the game, so to say. Apple's new 3D camera will utilize facial recognition technology to swap the face of a game character with that of the user.

The revolutionary 3D front-facing camera can be used for facial recognition as well as augmented reality. What makes this new feature even more exciting is that it is capable of scanning a person's head in 3D. The 3D scan of the head can then be superimposed over the head of a character in a mobile game. That way, the user becomes the character in the game. As BGR noted, this exciting bit of news comes from well-known Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst of KGI Securities.

According to 9to5Mac, the 3D system will combine an Infrared module to sense the 3D space in front of the camera. The system is also capable of iris recognition and taking 3D selfies. This is done by merging the depth information of bot 3D and 2D images taken by the front-facing camera.

The focus on facial recognition for the upcoming iPhone comes as a bit of a surprise since Apple was initially rumored to be using the Touch ID Fingerprint Sensor on the iPhone 8. The Touch ID is a relatively new feature of upcoming Apple products as the tech giant only received its patent around October last year.

The iPhone 8 was first rumored to have 3D lens camera back in November last year. Back then, the rumor was that Apple would be using LG Innotek's lens technology along with the dual camera setup it got with its purchase of Israeli camera tech company LinX. According to BGR, however, the feature is probably based on the tech by PrimeSense, also an Israeli startup. A few days ago, Apple paid $2 million to acquire RealFace, another Israeli company that deals with machine learning and cyber security. The Tel Aviv-based firm is also involved in facial recognition technology. While the rumors of the Touch ID's ditching are rampant, the fact remains that the acquisition of RealFace's tech is a little too late to be included in Apple's anniversary iPhone.