Qualcomm presented today an extremely interesting technology that allows fingerprints to be scanned directly through the screen of a smartphone, the technology to be implemented in iPhone 8. A variety of rumors that appeared in recent months claimed that the iPhone 8 will have a fingerprint reader integrated into the screen, and those from Qualcomm have previously presented what Apple will offer.
The fingerprint reader integrated by Qualcomm in the screen of a Vivo smartphone is able to scan the fingerprint even if the screen is 800 micrometers thick. The thickness is double the one at which previous technologies could scan, so we are talking about a huge technological advance made by Qualcomm, and the iPhone 8 will enjoy something similar.
The new sensors demonstrated by Qualcomm are capable of scanning using ultrasonic waves and are not limited to fingerprint scanning. More precisely, Qualcomm's new technology is able to perceive the user's heartbeat, but also the blood flow, as an additional measure of biometric security, which could be offered by the manufacturer.
The problem with this technology is that the fingerprint scanning area is very small and unlocking is much more difficult than with a normal fingerprint reader. Vivo has stated that it can integrate fingerprint readers on the entire surface of the screen, but the cost would be much too high, so it remains to be seen what Apple will do for the iPhone 8.
The scanner developed by Qualcomm can also work through metals, so it would allow the removal of those ugly buttons from charging, but... the first smartphones with this technology will be launched in 2018.
"Since the new fingerprint sensors will use ultrasonic scanning, they'll also be able to pick up a person's heartbeat and blood flow as an extra measure of security. I found the fingerprint recognition speed to be noticeably slower — about one second between first touch and entering home screen.”
