TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Beginning in late 2000 when Toshiba launched laptops with fingerprint scanners began the era of technology fingerprint on mobile devices. This technology allows users to unlock their devices with the touch of a finger instead of having to remember complicated passwords.
The first phone with a built-in fingerprint reader could be the Sagem MC 959 ID. Sagem became the first brand to be on the market, although at the same time Siemens also had a prototype of the same function that had been pioneered since the beginning of 1998.
This technology is rapidly being adopted by some devices personal digital assistant or PDAs because they are seen as features for business devices – which require extra security. However, fingerprint readers on mobile devices didn’t develop right away, until Apple pushed them into the mainstream, not just for businesses.
iPhone 5 series phones launched in 2013 with a new feature called “Touch IDThe device has a fingerprint reader tucked into the Home button which is still on the bottom bezel of the display.
Initially, it was used only as a faster alternative to passcode unlocking. A new use case emerged a year later with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus introducing Apple Pay.
Touch ID on iPhone 5s. Photo : Gsmarena
Apple introduced the faster 2nd generation Touch ID in the iPhone 6 series. Touch ID is still in use until the two newest devices in 2022 – the new iPhone SE 3 and iPad Air.
Apple may have popularized the fingerprint reader, and in 2017 started switching again to Face scanners (Face ID). The latest feature that uses a structured light sensor to get a 3D map of the user’s face was introduced on the iPhone X.
Android phone follows the trend of fingerprint technology
Some early phones such as the Motorola Atrix (2011) and the Samsung Galaxy S5 (2014) had a basic reader system that required the user to swipe their finger. Apple’s capacitive solution is much better – just touch the button.
Eventually, Android will switch to a capacitive type reader, placing it differently on the back or side of what is usually combined with the power button.
At MWC Shanghai 2017, Vivo demonstrated a prototype phone with a fingerprint reader that sits under the display panel. At that time, Vivo immediately mass-released the first phone with an under-display fingerprint reader–the Vivo X20 UD–which was soon followed by the X21 UD.
Rows of Samsung Galaxy Note7 when shown in New York, July 28, 2016. For the security system, the Galaxy Note7 is not only equipped with a fingerprint feature, but also an iris scanner. AP Photo
That year, there was a sudden explosion of phones equipped with under-screen readers. Including then there is the Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design from this generation of fingerprint technology. Not only under the screen, Huawei made two with another one on the back of the phone.
New kind of fingerprint scanner
In early 2019 Samsung introduced the Galaxy S10 series which was the first to feature an ultrasonic fingerprint reader. These are touted as safer because they can “see” the user’s finger in 3D rather than 2D (like an optical reader), which makes it much harder to fool. They did run into some issues, with some screen protectors causing the read process to fail.
The second generation of Qualcomm 3D Sonic Sensor covers a wider area and is faster. Even better, the product supports folding screen phones. Vivo X Fold which has a screen reader under the screen both on the cover screen and on the internal foldable display.
There haven’t been many updates in fingerprint reader technology in recent times. But the technology is increasingly prevalent, even on relatively inexpensive devices.
The vivo APEX concept phone has a massive fingerprint scanner up to half the screen. Photo : Gsmarena
In fact, in early 2018, the vivo APEX concept phone revealed a fingerprint reader that spans up to half of its screen. The extra size enables a curious mode where users can scan two fingers at the same time, which offers extra security.
Some say that this mode technology will be applied to the Vivo X80 Pro.
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