DealNTech Mobiles, PCs, and All Things Tech
Synaptics announced recently that it had managed to design an in-screen fingerprint sensor technology that is fit for mass production and that a “top-five” smartphone manufacturer will be the first in line to launch a phone equipped with it in 2018. This list narrows to Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Oppo-Vivo, and Xiaomi. While all points to the fact that Samsung is the one based on the patents they have filed, according to a new report by Forbes, it’s not Samsung but Vivo who will be launching the first phone with an in-screen fingerprint sensor in 2018.
Vivo has been experimenting with fingerprint sensors under the display for some time. The company also showcased a prototype unit earlier this year, but Qualcomm pioneered the technology. It is speculated that Vivo didn’t like how Qualcomm implemented it, so it didn’t enter into mass production. So Synaptics has developed a new technology called Clear ID, which is said to be fast and straightforward. That’s not it; Synaptics even claimed that their Clear ID is twice as fast as Apple’s Face ID. Now that’s something.
Samsung already has a pant for their in-screen fingerprint sensor, which uses a 12-pressure point sensor sandwiched between the cover glass and a display panel. The new scanner passes ultrasonic signals through an OLED panel up to 1200 μm thick to read the contours of a fingerprint without making direct contact. This year’s Flagships, the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ were supposed to ship with one, but they couldn’t perfect it in time. Also, the recently leaked images suggest the in-screen fingerprint sensor is not even in the Galaxy S9 or the S9+. However, it could debut with the Galaxy Note 9, likely to be launched in late 2018.
Returning to Apple, they are already trying to eliminate the need for a fingerprint sensor with their biometric Face ID technology, which fires infrared to detect a face. However, the tech is still vulnerable for security purposes. It will be interesting to see whether in-screen fingerprint technology, face recognition tech, or Iris scanner will dominate in 2018.
