Qualcomm announces fingerprint sensor that works through display, glass

Qualcomm, a global leader in semiconductors and telecommunication equipment, on Wednesday announced next generation ultrasonic fingerprint solutions that can be mounted under the device display, glass and metal body. The Qualcomm Fingerprint Sensors is an enhanced version of Qualcomm Snapdragon Sense ID fingerprint technology and is unveiled today at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2017.

The enhanced fingerprint sensors from the stable of Qualcomm are capable of scanning through display, thick glass and metal. It also allows underwater operation, heartbeat and blood flow detection for improved and enhanced authentication.

"We are excited to announce Qualcomm Fingerprint Sensors because they can be designed to support sleeker, cutting-edge form factors, unique mobile authentication experiences, and enhanced security authentication," said Seshu Madhavapeddy, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Qualcomm fingerprint sensor for display is the mobile industry’s first commercially announced multi-functional ultrasonic solution capable of scanning through OLED display stacks of up to 1200um, along with enrolling and matching.

Qualcomm fingerprint sensors are designed as both an integrated solution with Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platforms, and as standalone sensors that can be used with other non-Snapdragon Platforms. Qualcomm Fingerprint Sensors for Glass and Metal are designed to be compatible with the recently announced Snapdragon 660 and 630 Mobile Platforms, and Qualcomm Fingerprint Sensors for Display, Glass and Metal are designed to be compatible with future Snapdragon Mobile Platforms and non-Snapdragon platforms.

The new suite of features, compared to the previous generation, supports more design flexibility for operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) by making it easier to differentiate products with unique form factors and advanced features and designs.

Qualcomm fingerprint sensors for glass and metal are expected to be available to OEMs this month, and are expected to arrive in commercial devices in the first half of 2018. Qualcomm Fingerprint Sensor for Display is expected to be available for OEMs to evaluate in the fourth quarter of 2017.

As confirmed before the official announcement, the OnePlus 5 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, which has Snapdragon X16 LTE modem supporting data speed of up to 1 Gbps, coupled with an Adreno 540 graphic processing unit (GPU). The smartphone is comes in two storage and RAM variants – 64 GB/6 GB and 128 GB/8 GB. Both variants support dual-lane Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 2.1 for superior performance.

OnePlus 5 specificationsOnePlus 5 specificationsThe major attraction of the device is its dual-camera set-up -- 16-megapixel and 20 MP dual cameras -- at the rear. The 16 MP camera features a bright aperture of f/1.7 and the 20MP one sports an f/2.6 aperture. The cameras support portrait mode, which focuses on the subject and blurs the background, something that was introduced first in Apple iPhone 7.

OnePlus has also refreshed its Android-based operating system ‘Oxygen OS’ that now features Google Pixel-like app drawer, which can be accessed from any window now, without going back to the home screen of the device. The company has also added to the OS a reading mode that adjusts the screen temperature setting automatically. The reading mode can also be activated manually from the notification area or settings.