Since 2013, in-display fingerprint scanners have become a mainstay in smartphone technology, becoming ubiquitous on high-end flagship smartphones and optical scanners, respectively. Ultrasonic and optical scanners both play an essential part in biometric authentication - but ultrasonic is typically chosen over optical for high-end flagship smartphones due to better biometric authentication capability; recently however, Digital Chat Station on Weibo provided information regarding forthcoming ultrasonic scanners on certain devices.
Brands Leveraging Ultrasonic Technology
Digital Chat Station reported that OPPO, OnePlus and Realme are actively developing ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint scanners for their forthcoming devices, which should eventually replace optical scanners on forthcoming flagship offerings from these brands. Unfortunately no further details regarding this development were given by their tipster.
Current Implementations and Future Prospects.
Existing flagship phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, iQOO 12 Pro and Meizu 21/21 Pro have already integrated ultrasonic fingerprint scanning technology. Reports also indicate that Xiaomi 15 series powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC may soon follow suit as Goodix single point ultrasonic fingerprint scanner technology undergoes trials indicating potential future adoption.
Comparing Ultrasonic and Optical Scanners
Ultrasonic fingerprint scanners create a 3D map of fingerprints by emitting ultrasonic soundwaves beneath a screen when someone contacts their finger with it, creating a detailed 3D map through ultrasonic sound waves transmitted beneath. This technology offers enhanced security features with reduced vulnerability to spoofing, water-resistance, smudge resistance and superior detection accuracy. Conversely, optical scanners offer lower levels of security but at a cheaper cost by capturing 2D fingerprint images using light technology instead.
