New APIs in iOS 7 Allow Developers to Detect Blinking and Smiling in Photos

In addition to a complete redesign and a slew of new features, Apple's iOS 7 offers a number of APIs for developers, including several camera improvements like zoom capabilities for video.

According to 9to5Mac, iOS 7 beta 2, which debuted yesterday, added a new function that allows developers to access image detectors to locate facial expressions within photos.

While face recognition was originally introduced with iOS 5, the new APIs can detect distinct expressions like smiles and blinking, functionality that is found in several basic point-and-shoot cameras.

newapis
Since the iPhone's debut, Apple has worked hard to improve both the camera hardware and software of its devices, so it is no surprise that iOS 7 will offer multiple camera enhancements for developers. Each iteration of iOS has included new features, such as the volume shutter controls that debuted with iOS 5 and the panorama capabilities added with iOS 6.

Apple's camera expansion efforts have largely paid off, with the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5 ranked as the three most popular cameras on photo sharing site Flickr. The iPhone's camera was also the highlight of a recent Apple advertising campaign.

Along with software improvements in iOS 7, Apple's next generation iPhone is also expected to feature several photo-focused enhancements. The iPhone 5S is rumored to have a higher megapixel camera and a dual LED flash that was revealed in device photos earlier this week.

Related Forum: iOS 7

Top Rated Comments

pmau Avatar
142 months ago
WarpCore API

*/
CF_EXPORT
CFWarpDriveRef CFWarpDriveCreate(CFSpaceTimeRef dimension, const void **darkness, const void **eternity, CFIndex numHops, const CFWarpCallBacks *warpCallBacks, const CFSpeedCallBacks *speedCallBacks);

Look, I found a new Warp Drive API in CoreFoundation, near WarpCore.
You can create a EWarpDrive instance, define the dimension, darkness and eternity parameters and the number of hops you want to travel.

Each hop will cause a warpCallback into your App and the speedCallbacks let you place pins on the new 3D galaxy map API.

Use carefully.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Frisco Avatar
142 months ago
I don't know how I lived my 50 years of life without this technology. It makes my 50 years seem meaningless.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lotzosushi Avatar
142 months ago
Well as long as they don't pull an S4 gimmick and market eye-tracking as a huge feature. Cause it's not.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tbrinkma Avatar
142 months ago
The code says something about a minimum OS X requirement. More artificial limitations? "The older iMac cannot provide the processing power required for blink detection." ;)

Yep. God forbid they add a new feature to new versions of their OSs without backporting them all to the older versions. :rolleyes:

I suppose you want them to backport Grand Central Dispatch and Intel processor support all the way back to Puma, too?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xcodeaddict Avatar
142 months ago
Are you saying that the HTC implementation of this sucked? Is this based on personal experience on your part?

Or are you saying the Apple version is Gods gift to photography? Again, based on your usage?

You or I don't have a CLUE what Apple's version is like... but I guess a fanboi is a fanboi and it does not matter whether it REALLY is good, if it says Apple it MUST be good.
It's simple - Apple's implementations of things may take longer, but are generally FAR better, and that's not something I wish to debate really - it's obvious by mere observation and common sense.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stack Overflow Avatar
142 months ago
The code says something about a minimum OS X requirement. More artificial limitations? "The older iMac cannot provide the processing power required for blink detection." ;)
It's not limiting it based on the hardware, it's limiting it based on the APIs the version of OS X contains. Only 10.9 has this (according to the code snippet).

You can't use a software feature that isn't contained in the software in question.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
apple id account

Apple ID Accounts Logging Out Users and Requiring Password Reset

Saturday April 27, 2024 12:41 am PDT by
There are widespread reports of Apple users being locked out of their Apple ID overnight for no apparent reason, requiring a password reset before they can log in again. Users say the sudden inexplicable Apple ID sign-out is occurring across multiple devices. When they attempt to sign in again they are locked out of their account and asked to reset their password in order to regain access. ...
macos sonoma feature purple green

Apple's Regular Mac Base RAM Boosts Ended When Tim Cook Took Over

Friday April 26, 2024 6:34 am PDT by
Apple used to regularly increase the base memory of its Macs up until 2011, the same year Tim Cook was appointed CEO, charts posted on Mastodon by David Schaub show. Earlier this year, Schaub generated two charts: One showing the base memory capacities of Apple's all-in-one Macs from 1984 onwards, and a second depicting Apple's consumer laptop base RAM from 1999 onwards. Both charts were...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Apple's iPad Event Finally Announced!

Friday April 26, 2024 8:31 am PDT by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the announcement of Apple's upcoming "Let loose" event, where the company is widely expected to announce new iPad models and accessories. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's event invite shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Apple CEO Tim...
ipad pro 2022

Apple Event Rumors: iPad Pro With M4 Chip and New Apple Pencil With Haptic Feedback

Sunday April 28, 2024 6:19 am PDT by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman outlined some of the new products he expects Apple to announce at its "Let Loose" event on May 7. First, Gurman now believes there is a "strong possibility" that the upcoming iPad Pro models will be equipped with Apple's next-generation M4 chip, rather than the M3 chip that debuted in the MacBook Pro and iMac six months ago. He said a ...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...