OPPO & Xiaomi Could Launch Smartphones With Facial Scanning In 2018

Just like Touch ID, it seems that Apple’s Face ID is testing pretty positive amongst reviewers. Sure, there might be some issues here and there, but we expect that Apple will improve upon it and fix it with software updates over time, but for the most part, it looks like Face ID is indeed working as advertised.

The good news for Android users is that you might not have to wait too long to see it implemented in Android devices. According to a report from DigiTimes, come 2018 it is expected that Chinese OEMs OPPO and Xiaomi could integrate similar facial scanning solutions into their handsets.

Prior to this, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had stated that he believes that Face ID and the TrueDepth camera system used in the iPhone X had given Apple a 2.5 year lead on the competition, but if this report is true, Android’s answer to Face ID could come sooner than that. It is possible that it might not necessarily work as well as Face ID (or it could work even better, who knows), so we’ll just have to wait and see.

However given that smartphone makers tend to “borrow” features from each other, especially if those features are trending, it wouldn’t really surprise us. Kuo did previously state that he is seeing more Android handset makers show interest in the technology, which echoes what some facial recognition startups are experiencing themselves. In addition to OPPO and Xiaomi, there have been rumors claiming that the Samsung Galaxy S9 could potentially explore the idea of facial recognition technology as well.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones, Rumors
Tags: face id, iPhone X, Oppo, Security, Xiaomi