Vivo will launch the first phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor

Vivo phone with in-display fingerprint sensor

Update (Dec 15): While Synaptics had just teased that it is working with a top five OEM, we now know that Vivo is going to be the first company to launch a phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor. In a report on Thursday, Forbes contributor Patrick Moorhead revealed that he had a chance to spend time with a pre-production unit of a upcoming Vivo phone with the in-screen fingerprint sensor. No details about this Vivo phone are known at this point, but Moorhead did reveal the current implementation of the in-display fingerprint sensor.

How does it work?

You press the power button. The screen wakes up and shows a fingerprint icon (like in the image above). You put your finger on the icon and it gets authenticated.

Synaptics unveils in-display fingerprint sensors for phones

Dec 12: We have long been hearing about fingerprint sensors embedded in the smartphone’s display and it seems they are finally ready for primetime. Synaptics, a company known for touch sensing, display and biometrics solutions, has announced that it has entered in the mass production of world’s first in-display fingerprint sensors for the smartphones.

In a press release, the company revealed that its new Clear ID FS9500 family of optical in-display fingerprint sensors are faster than alternative biometric solutions like face unlock and provide convenient one-touch/one-step biometric authentication directly in the touchscreen of the phones.

“Consumers prefer fingerprint authentication on the front of the phone, and with the industry quickly shifting to bezel-free OLED infinity displays, the natural placement of the fingerprint sensor is in the display itself,” said Kevin Barber, senior vice president and general manager, Mobile Division, Synaptics, in a statement.

The company adds that the Clear ID is very secure and includes multiple security features to thwart misuse including AI-enabled anti-spoof tech and TLS protocol support with ECC authentication and AES encryption. Clear ID will work no matter you have wet, dry or cold fingers and it is durable and protected by glass.

The company has not shared specifics about when we can expect to see the Clear ID sensors in actual smartphones or which companies are using it, but I am hoping to hear more at the CES 2018, where Synaptics will be demoing the technology.

If Synaptics Clear ID sensors indeed turn out to be all the company is claiming, they will help the manufacturers in saving key real-estate on the smartphone bodies and allow them to offer even more compact devices.

What are your thought on this new tech? Would you like to see an in-display fingerprint sensor in your next smartphone? Let us know in comments.

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