DealNTech Mobiles, PCs, and All Things Tech
Many top smartphone makers, from Apple to Samsung, have been rumored to be trying to embed a fingerprint sensor under the display. Samsung even filed patents for it. But Vivo will be the first to launch a smartphone with an in-screen fingerprint scanner. Last year, Vivo released a video with an “under-display” fingerprint sensor, which was quite innovative. A new motion teaser from Vivo has further confirmed that the company is ready with a smartphone with a fingerprint sensor mounted under the display.
Though the news is exciting, it isn’t the first time it has been reported. Last month, Synaptics announced that they had managed to design an in-screen fingerprint sensor fit for mass production. They further mentioned that a “top-five” smartphone manufacturer would be the first in line to launch a phone equipped with it this year. Though Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo’s name was not mentioned, it was on the list.
The teaser image comes with the quote “UNLOCK THE FUTURE,” as they did in their late concept videos. It’s written CES 2018, which confirms that the device will appear there. We will witness Vivo becoming the first brand to launch a consumer smartphone with a fingerprint sensor embedded under the display.
About the technology, Vivo has been experimenting with under-display fingerprint sensors pioneered by Qualcomm, but they only got it to a prototype unit, which they showcased last year. But as Synaptics mentions, they will likely be the pioneer of this groundbreaking technology. It is not yet mentioned how the technology exactly works. Still, we can get an idea from the Samsung patent where they used 12 pressure point sensors sandwiched between the cover glass and display panel where the scanner passes ultrasonic signals through an OLED to read the contours of a fingerprint without making direct contact.
This technology may induce other smartphone manufacturers to use similar technology, eliminating the front, rear, or side-mounted fingerprint sensors. The CES 2018 starts from 9 January to 12 January. Vivo officially announced that it will showcase the First Smartphone with an In-Screen Fingerprint Sensor at the event on 10 January.
