Samsung Galaxy S8 update: Top human interface solutions developer may provide S8's integrated fingerprint sensor
Galaxy S8 details keep on coming as the launch of Samsung’s upcoming flagship phone draws near. The Galaxy S8 is reportedly going to adopt the now-defunct Galaxy Note 7’s display panel and may equip a leading human interface solution developer’s optical fingerprint sensor.
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Previous reports indicate that the Samsung Galaxy S8 is set to launch without a Home button, following the footsteps of rival Apple’s iPhone. With that in consideration, the phone’s fingerprint sensor needs to be relocated as well, and Samsung is reportedly going to integrate the scanner with the S8’s Super AMOLED display. And it just so happened that Synaptics, a top developer of human interface solutions, announced on Monday that it launching an “industry-first family of Natural ID biometric authentication solutions that leverage high-performance, highly secure optical-based fingerprint sensors for smartphones and tablets.”
Synaptics says that the new FS9100 optical fingerprint sensor family is capable of high-resolution scanning through 1 mm of full cover glass. The technology shall allow smartphone makers to ditch the Home button from future releases and provide clean, button-free industrial phone designs. The new sensors are intended to be placed under the cover glass, including 2.5D glass, situated in the front, bottom bezel of mobile devices.
The announcement of Synaptics’ new FS9100 optical fingerprint sensors coincides with the Samsung Galaxy S8 “leaks” that have popped up the last few weeks. The Galaxy S8 shall be the first mobile phone to feature proper optical fingerprint identification if everything pans out as projected. Every major smartphone that follows the S8’s release shall most likely implement the same button-less technology.
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While the new Synaptics sensors and Samsung’s reported Galaxy S8 plans perfectly match, the FS9100 sensor family is set to start mass production between April and June of next year. The Galaxy S8, on the other hand, is expected to be launched in February. The South Korean tech giant may have to look for another fingerprint scanner supplier or just develop its own sensors, which the company is more than capable of doing as SamMobile pointed out.
