It has been reported that in response to Apple’s Face ID facial recognition system on the iPhone, instead of trying to copy Apple, it has been suggested that Android OEMs are actually doubling down on in-display fingerprint sensors as a way to stand out and differentiate themselves from the iPhone.
In fact come 2019, Samsung’s Galaxy S10 could very well be packing an in-display fingerprint sensor, or at least that’s what the Korean media is suggesting. The report claims that this won’t be just any old in-display fingerprint sensor, and will instead be using an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor made by Qualcomm.
Qualcomm has actually made such sensors in the past, like back in 2015 when they launched Sense ID. However this sensor used by the Galaxy S10 will be the third-gen variant. We’re not sure what the differences are from the first-gen to the third-gen, but some advantages of the ultrasonic sensor is that it can work even underwater, can work through thicker displays, and can also pick up things like blood flow and heart beat which can be used for health purposes or more secure authentication.
Samsung has been rumored to be looking into in-display sensors for a while, and at one point it was even rumored that the Galaxy Note 9 could be looking to use the technology (obviously that did not happen). Either way we’ll probably have to wait until 2019 to find out for ourselves, so take it with a grain of salt for now.
Filed in . Read more about Galaxy S10, Qualcomm, Samsung and Security.