The leaked image was shared on Twitter by user @choco_bit (which 9to5Mac later discovered was originally posted by Instagram account @conceptsiphone), where it shows a drawing that allegedly depicts the iPhone 12 where on the back of the phone where the cameras are housed, there is an additional lens that seems to suggest that is where the LiDAR scanner will be housed.
In a way, this feature hardly comes as a surprise. Apple has always been rather open about its interest in augmented reality, and interestingly enough, the 2020 iPad Pro is actually the first Apple product to get the feature (Apple typically launches new features on iPhones first before they are brought over to the iPad).
@appleinsider @MacRumors @9to5mac you guys excited about iPhone 12Pro and 12ProMax with Lidar? pic.twitter.com/CQaQcb6hQ5
— Stella – Fudge (@StellaFudge) April 5, 2020
Whether or not this drawing is accurate remains to be seen (although it is said to have been extracted from a leaked iOS 14 build), but like we said, Apple’s interest in AR technology means that such a feature would not be a stretch of the imagination. In any case, take it with a grain of salt for now as we’ll probably have to wait quite a bit before the iPhone 12 is officially announced, assuming it hasn’t been delayed to 2021.