iOS 12 has a pretty big clue that Face ID is coming to the iPad. AvatarKit, which is a key element for Animoji on the iPhone X that uses the TrueDepth camera, is part of the framework available for the iPad.
Steve Troughton-Smith, well known for discoveries like this as well as accurate product leaks, shared the discovery on Twitter. He said, “New in iOS 12: AvatarKit comes to iPad. Still requires a TrueDepth camera to do face tracking, though, i.e. an iPad with Face ID.”
New in iOS 12: AvatarKit comes to iPad. Still requires a TrueDepth camera to do face tracking, though, i.e. an iPad with Face ID pic.twitter.com/9TvP2vsP6X
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) July 3, 2018
Currently, the TrueDepth camera is available only on the iPhone X. Since AvatarKit is available for the iPad in iOS 12, it stands to reason Apple has plans for a tablet refresh with the TrueDepth camera along with Face ID and Animoji support.
iOS 12 is available as a developer and public beta now and is shipping this fall as a free upgrade for compatible iPhone and iPad models. That means new iPad models could be just a couple months away.