KGI: Qualcomm’s In-Screen Fingerprint Sensor Not Close To Shipping

Last week Qualcomm announced what seemed like the successor to their Sense ID technology in form of the Qualcomm Fingerprint Sensor. What it does is that it allows smartphone makers to embed fingerprint scanners underneath the display and because it uses ultrasonic tech to scan fingerprints, it can even work when your fingers might be wet.

The company had previously said that they were aiming for a release in the summer of 2018, but according to a report by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, he has suggested that Qualcomm is apparently nowhere close to shipping these components. He states that there are some areas that still need to be worked on.

According to Kuo, “The ultrasonic fingerprint recognition installed on Vivo’s prototype model should be the latest 2.1 version which, compared with the previous version, offers better scan-through and can distinguish between real fingers and artificial clones. However, we think there are still a few technological challenges to be addressed, including: (1) scan-through ability still has room for improvement; (2) slower to enable; and (3) slower response.”

He also states that there are some manufacturing concerns, such as how it will require a thinner glass cover and flexible OLED panels, a feature that not all smartphones will have. Kuo also seems to think that consumers don’t mind having a fingerprint scanner on the back of their phone, and so handset makers might not necessarily feel the need to adopt Qualcomm’s tech.

Take it with a grain of salt for now since this is just the opinion of an analyst, but we reckon should Apple launch an iPhone with an embedded sensor, it could spur the competition to follow suit.

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: Qualcomm, Security