Chinese smartphone maker Vivo is planning to launch a new smartphone that will embed fingerprint sensor directly onto the display – something not yet available in smartphones commercially.
The company has sent out a promotional teaser image that reads “Unlock the future” along with a highlighted finger print sensor on to the display. The smartphone will be unveiled at the Vivo booth at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2018) on January 10, and according to Vivo, the phone will be available to purchase in the first quarter of 2018.
Last year, Synaptics first demonstrated this technology the news ran like a wildfire on the internet and left users speculating as to which smartphones would integrate this technology. Synaptics further said that the FS9500 optical in-display fingerprint sensor is on a mass production with a ‘top five OEM’.
“The fingerprint scanner is placed between the OLED and glass panel covering the display. The need for in-display fingerprint scanners has risen after smartphone makers have switched to a full display. These displays are typically edge-to-edge with a wide 18:9 aspect ratio,” Vivo said in statement.
The big 18:9 aspect ratio displays have now become standard in smartphones such as Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, LG V30+, LG G6, Samsung Galaxy S8 – resulting in the killing of home button.
Until last year, Apple was rumoured to be working on such tech eliminating the need of home button, but now it looks like Vivo is going to use the same. And while majority of smartphone makers have moved the fingerprint scanner to the rear, Apple has completely eliminated the need of fingerprint sensor by introducing a new FaceID feature on its iPhone X.
“With our efforts in extensive consumer research and long-term R&D investment, Vivo is well positioned to pioneer the development of fingerprint scanning technology. We first presented a prototype of our fingerprint scanning solution at MWC Shanghai 2017 based on an ultrasonic sensor, and have remained committed to realising our vision for future smartphones,” said Alex Feng, Senior Vice President of Vivo.
