Synaptics Incorporated, based in San Jose, announced its plans on Monday for the mass production of a fingerprint sensor on the screen and, according to the company, has a very large partner.
The scanner “Clear ID”, which will be located under the phone’s screen, would theoretically allow biometric data to be easily used in wireless phones. While Synaptics is not the first company developing such technologies, it claims to have made an agreement with an anonymous “top 5 [original equipment manufacturers]”and shows that it is ready for big things.
«The Clear ID of “Synaptics” is twice as fast as facial recognition», the company explains in a press release, «and requires only a touch to access your smartphone.»
And this is not the only thing Synaptics has to say. The company notes that the “fingerprint” [in-display] technology allows users to securely unlock the device in situations, such as when it is on the table, at any angle or when it is in the car.”
We all know that Apple removed fingerprint scanning technology from the iPhone X and the prevailing view is that Face ID is here to stay. And yet facial scanning seems to be gaining traction, and security researchers claim they are able to hack Face ID with relative ease.
Surely, fingerprint scanning is not entirely secure, but users seem to have favored the good old Touch ID.
“Consumers prefer fingerprint verification on the front of their phones and with the industry rapidly developing OLED infinity screens, the physical placement of the fingerprint sensor is on the screen itself”, said Kevin Barber, vice president of mobile phones at Synaptics and general manager.
Only time will tell if the smartphone of the future will avoid face‑scanning technology in favor of an old‑type fingerprint sensor, but Synaptics is clearly betting on it.
