The screen itself is not 3D, but the front of the phone has 4 cameras
placed on each corner of the phone, this is to track the user's
eyes/head and move the UI to give the impression of 3D. Similar to
what iOS 7 is achieving simply by using the phone's accelerometer.
The advantage being that it's not based on how the phone moves, but
how the head moves.
Here's a demo of the effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9kPI7_vhAU
This article has started to drop suspiciously quickly - whether that's users flagging it or you or another mod messing with the votes I don't know. But it's worrying.
In this case, the webpage itself was pretty boring, but it led to a discussion about a very interesting piece of technology and UI idea, one which I and, judging by its high-front-page status, a number of other HN readers, enjoyed very much. I'd hate for discussions like this to be stifled by overmoderation.
The question here isn't what you can talk about. Two discussions on this are currently open; you're welcome to keep them going. It's whether the story and/or discussions are substantive enough to belong on HN's front page. I'm not seeing the substance here. The story is an announcement of an announcement, and the top comment on the main thread just now is https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7848774, which is the opposite of what HN calls for. This makes sense, given that there's no actual substance to discuss.
That's my call on that story, anyway. Of course, we don't get every call right. Moderation is guesswork, and we rely on the community to point out our mistakes.
Your point about HN moderation seeming heavy-handed is really a side effect of greater transparency. Because what we do has gotten more visible, it seems like it's new. But it isn't new—it's the way things have always worked. Hacker News from day one has been a blend of community upvotes and active curation. Sadly, one consequence of greater transparency is that some people feel like we've suddenly become heavy-handed and manipulative. It isn't true, but I understand why it might seem that way.
> Are you interested in developing apps that utilize a novel type of sensor?
> Do you have machine learning experience? Please describe.
> Describe an innovative way in which you have used gyroscopes, accelerometers, compass, or other sensors in your app development
Those all involve positioning.