[CES 2018] Last year it was revealed that Vivo would be the first smartphone maker to integrate an in-display fingerprint scanner into a phone, and this year at CES the company has decided to show it off at the event in which the technology was demonstrated and tested out by those who attended the event.According to Alex Feng, Senior Vice President of Vivo, “Today’s showcase of a ready-to-produce in-display fingerprint scanning smartphone featuring an optical fingerprint sensor is a big leap forward in bringing consumers this long-awaited, futuristic mobile experience. We are very excited to make it available to consumers soon.”
For those unfamiliar, Synaptics are the ones behind the technology and have begun mass producing the scanners. Vivo will be the first to take advantage of the technology, but a recent leak has revealed that Doogee will also be incorporating something similar. Ubergizmo’s co-founder Hubert Nguyen had the opportunity to test it, and although it is a tiny bit slower than current fingerprint readers, it is unbelievably cool and will affect phone designs in a major way.
The sensor is small, but bigger than one would think it is. “Vivo has done a fantastic job at integrating it into a slim form-factor” says Hubert.
Synaptics has always been a major contributor to the mobile ecosystem, but this is a milestone that will not be forgotten anytime soon. The sensor works by having the OLED display light up where the finger is. The light is then reflected from the finger back onto the sensor, which is accurate enough to see the unique pattern. Since it is an optical sensor, it should work even if you have a screen protector on.
Speed will without a doubt be improved as the drivers are tweaked and more tests are done. In time, it should work just like regular fingerprint readers we are familiar with. It is a pity that this tech was not integrated in the current generation of phones, but there’s always another one on the horizon.
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