Synaptics and Qualcomm partner on biometrics, touch interface for mobile devices, PCs

New strategic partners Synaptics and Qualcomm are combining their biometric and touch interface technologies to address the mobile device and PC markets.

Synaptics Touch and Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Fingerprint technology are both engineered for implementation in OLED displays, the partners say, and can enable seamless integration between touch interface and fingerprint biometrics technologies.

Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Gen 2 ultrasonic fingerprint sensor provides native biometric authentication in the Google Pixel 9 and 10 and Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

The partnership will also include integrations of Synaptics’ capacitive fingerprint technology, Natural ID, the announcement indicates.

The partners cite figures from an Omdia market report released in October forecasting shipments of flexible OLED displays will grow significantly from 600 million units this year to more than 800 million units in 2030.

“Collaborating with Synaptics — another pioneer in this field — opens the door to new levels of innovation,” says Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. VP and GM of Wearables and Mixed Signal Solutions Dino Bekis. “Together, we are combining our unique capabilities to advance state-of-the-art biometric security and how people interact with devices across mobile and compute ecosystems.”

“Partnering with Qualcomm Technologies amplifies our shared vision for seamless, secure, and intelligent user experiences,” says Satish Ganesan, SVP and GM of Synaptics’ Intelligent Sensing Group. “It’s a collaboration intended to drive meaningful innovation across the HMI industry.”

Synaptics has been working on combining biometric authentication and touch interaction in screens for years, including for smart vehicle implementations. Back in 2018, then- Synaptics Vice President of Marketing Godfrey Cheng told Biometric Update about the company’s early work in putting biometrics under smartphones’ OLED displays.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  fingerprint sensors  |  OLED  |  Qualcomm  |  Synaptics  |  ultrasonic fingerprints