Samsung patents under-display fingerprint scanner; expected to debut technology on the Galaxy Note 9

Even though our expectations of an under-screen fingerprint scanner couldn’t be fulfilled by the  Apple iPhone X , Samsung has registered for patent of a pressure-sensitive under-display fingerprint scanner in South Korea.

Samsung is expected to bring this fingerprint reading technology on one of its upcoming flagship devices in 2018. According to a report  by GalaxyClub.nl the Touch ID-like reader could be placed in a position “nearby to the Samsung Galaxy S8 ’s virtual home button”. The report also mentions that Samsung might “skip the new technology on the Galaxy S9 and aim for the Note 9 launch”, indicating that more work needs to be done before it can be perfected for mass production.

But, Vivo has already launched the under-screen technology surpassing the tech giants. Vivo on 28 June launched an  industry-first under display fingerprint technology at MWC 2017 in Shanghai. The sensor by Vivo can be placed under the glass (0.88mm) and OLED screen (1.2mm) and an aluminium cover of 0.525mm making it invisible from the outside or under a display.

For now Samsung is still busy at work on its first new attraction, Bixby. Officials have also mentioned that it is expected to introduce the second edition of the voice-powered digital assistant Bixby 2.0 in 2018 . Samsung announced the voice assistant Bixby in March 2017 and Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ were the first devices to come with the virtual voice assistant.

According to Samsung the upgrade will allow it to work on multiple devices including televisions and refrigerators. Samsung has brought its own virtual assistant that takes on with Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa. Samsung smartphones already come with  Iris scanner, fingerprint sensor and facial recognition.