In a note to clients — as noted by AppleInsider — KGI Securities Ming-Chi Kuo says the iPhone X, though not selling as well as expected, has been a “strategic success” for Apple due to long-term competitive advantages such as Face ID and the TrueDepth cameras.
He explains that the 3D sensing capabilities in the high-end smartphone will pave the way for more advanced augmented reality and artificial intelligence applications. Kuo also believes that, though copycats will be in “full effect” in 2018 to implement their own versions of Face ID, Apple’s technical advantages give it up two years’ advantage over the competition.