Qualcomm Sense ID: Qualcomm today unveiled a new fingerprint scanner, and if it's as the company promises, it should be even better than Apple's Touch ID.
Sense IDcould pick up your fingerprints even if your hands are a little sweaty, dirty, or wet. A common complaint with Apple's Touch ID is that the fingerprint sensor doesn't work well with sweaty or wet fingers.
Qualcomm's technology improves on existing scanners that now verify fingerprints in 3D using ultrasonic sound technology. They collect features such as the size of the fingerprint lines, which helps protect the device from common unlocking scams. Most sensors today only read fingerprints in 2D, a limitation that makes it easier for hackers to replicate fingerprints taken on, say, a glass.
Qualcomm's new 3D sensor can also scan through glass, aluminum, stainless steel, sapphire, and plastic, according to the company, so a device manufacturer could embed the scanner in any part of the new product, including your phone's screen itself.
The sensor technology will be directly compatible with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 and 425 processors, and Sense ID will be available as a standalone feature.
Of course, we haven't seen Qualcomm's scanner in action yet, so we can't know how effective it is. Let's wait and see.
