CES 2021 is underway, and Qualcomm just announced its new in-screen fingerprint sensor that’s 77% bigger in size, and 50% faster than the previous generation ultrasonic fingerprint sensors.
Qualcomm is calling this 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2, and from what the company says, this will solve the two biggest problem with the current generation in-screen fingerprint scanner.
Compared to the first generation in-screen scanners, the new ones have a 77% larger fingerprint read area. This means the users will have a big area to tap their finger on, plus this will help Qualcomm’s AI in learning more area of your finger for faster authentication.
This larger sensor combined with faster processing will be 50% faster than Gen 1 so you can unlock your device quicker than ever
Secondly, the company says the new sensors are 50% faster than the last generation fingerprint sensor. This will make not only make authentications faster, but will also result in way less failed attempts.
Qualcomm says smartphones with the new sensors are expected in early 2021, hinting that the yet to be announced Samsung Galaxy S21 series will debut with the new sensor.
In case you’re wondering, Qualcomm relies on sound waves and depth map of your finger for their sensors, instead, other companies rely on the optical fingerprint sensors.
Our Take
With the industry moving forward, it was a matter of time before the companies introduced larger fingerprint sensors. It’s has happened in the past, too. But how this approach turn out to be, or becomes mainstream in smartphones, only time will tell.
What’s Your Take?
What are your thoughts on the newly announced Qualcomm fingerprint sensor? Do you like the current in-screen fingerprint scanner on your smartphone? How frequent does it fail? Or do you rely on other methods of authentication? Do let us know in the comment section below!