As expected, Vivo today showcased its under-the-glass fingerprint scanning solution at the MWC 2017 event in Shanghai, China. The company’s solution uses ultrasonic fingerprint sensor technology from Qualcomm, which is showing off its own under-glass fingerprint scanning technology at the tradeshow.
Both Vivo, as well as Qualcomm, are using solutions that are capable of scanning fingerprints through 1.2mm thick OLED panels. Since no physical button is required for the fingerprint scanner, the technology will allow Vivo (and other manufacturers) to design true ‘full-screen’ displays with virtually no bezels around. Additionally, the new technology will allow for an integrated unibody and mechanical waterproofing design. Apart from unlocking the device, Vivo believes the under-glass fingerprint scanning technology can be used for other applications such as gesture recognition, security verifications, and others.
Manufacturers such as Samsung, Xiaomi, and LG have already come up with flagship handsets that boast minimal bezels on the front, so we are very hopeful that the screen-to-body ratio will climb much higher in the coming months thanks to the under-glass fingerprint scanning technology. As for Vivo, the company only showed a prototype smartphone with the under-glass fingerprint scanner at MWC Shanghai. It hasn’t revealed when the first smartphone with the new fingerprint scanning solution will go official. One thing is for sure though, the first smartphone with an under-the-glass fingerprint scanner will not be a flagship device. That’s because only the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 and 630 SoCs currently offer support for the technology. The flagship Snapdragon 835 does not support the under-glass fingerprint scanning tech. If previous rumors are to be believed, Vivo will be the first Chinese Android OEM to roll out a smartphone with the new technology. Globally, the first smartphone with an under-glass fingerprint scanner is expected to be the Apple iPhone 8, which could be made official in September.
[Via: Engadget]
