Smartphones to get optical in-display fingerprint sensor soon

Synaptics Incorporated has announced plans to come out with an optical in-display fingerprint sensor for smartphones.

And the venture will be done with a “top five OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)” which the San Jose-based company did not identify.

Synaptics isn’t the first company to develop fingerprint technology though.

Mashable reported back in June that Chinese company Vivo came out with the feature and introduced it at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai that month.

Synaptics said in a press release on its website that the Clear ID FS9500 family of optical in-display fingerprint sensors “is made for smartphones with infinity displays that activate only when needed.”

Faster biometrics tech

The company also said the fingerprint sensor is “faster than alternative biometrics such as 3D facial recognition technology.”

Facial identification (Face ID) technology is used on iPhone X, which Apple released last month.

Synaptics also said its fingerprint sensor is “highly-secure” with SentryPoint technology and convenient to use because the “one-touch/one-step biometric authentication” is in the touchscreen display area of smartphones.

Can work with wet or cold fingers

The company said further that the fingerprint sensor could work with “wet, dry and cold fingers, and since it’s protected by glass, is durable, scratch-proof and waterproof.”

Synaptics said the fingerprint technology lets users unlock the device while sitting, at any angle, or while in a car mount.

Kevin Barber, who is senior vice president and general manager of the Synaptics’ Mobile Division, pointed out that smartphone users “prefer fingerprint authentication on the front of the phone.”

He also said that with the smartphone industry shifting to bezel-free OLED infinity displays, the fingerprint sensor should naturally be on the display.

What’s next?

U.S. hardware company Synaptics will mass produce fingerprint sensors for smartphones.

 

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