Qualcomm to provide ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor for high-end Samsung smartphones

Samsung will integrate an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor from Qualcomm with its high-end smartphones beginning in 2019, TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says, according to 9to5Google.

The ultrasonic sensor was announced by Qualcomm a year ago, and Precise Biometric’s BioMatch Mobile algorithm was integrated shortly after, but little has been heard about the technology since. 9to5Google reports that Samsung CEO DJ Koh says optical sensors can cause a bad user experience, according to a “well-known Samsung tipster,” and that otherwise Samsung would have adopted it for in-display fingerprint capabilities two years ago.

Kuo says it will likely be integrated in high-end Galaxy S10 models, the highest-end A series model, and the Note 10, with total unit shipments likely to reach 60 million. Kuo also forecasts sales of the S10 to reach 40 million, of which about 34 to 36 million will be the high-end models, while the A series is expected to make up around 6-8 million units with in-display fingerprint sensors, and the Note 10 accounting for 14 to 16 million units sold in 2019.

Samsung was previously reported to be working on integrating an ultrasonic sensor in the Galaxy S10, though Kuo said in March that it did not consider the technology ready yet. Synaptics VP Godfrey Cheng told Biometric Update in February that fundamental physics issues were still a challenge for using ultrasonic fingerprint sensor technology in-display.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Ming Kuo  |  Qualcomm  |  Samsung  |  smartphones