With time mobile phone technology has advanced so much that every personal detail is present in the palm of your hand i.e. through mobile devices. From access to your bank accounts to your grocery ordering; you name it every possible way technology has comprised itself in the our mobiles. Along with this security of this device should be primarily the responsibility of user and manufacturers. Mobile device manufacturers are likely to focus on this factor stepwise, earlier having a passcode, face or voice recognition was considered prime for securing the devices. 2018 onwards recognition methods have been replaced by much more authentic personal identification i.e. in-display fingerprint technology.
Working Principle of Fingerprint Technology:
In-display fingerprint scanning technology works like magic 1 2 3!
- Touch the screen.
- It reads your fingerprint
- Unlocks your phone.
Let’s look at the principle behind the magic.
Usually, a specific part of the mobile screen has a scanner under it. When you place your finger over the scanner, it takes a snapshot of your finger’s pattern with a sensor. It then matches it to the identification data on your phone. If it’s a match, your phone will unlock.
The scanning process can be very quick or very slow. This is due to the large difference between two different sensors using scanning technology differently.
Going into some details primarily in-display finger scanners are of following 2 types;
- Optical Scanners
- Ultrasonic Scanners
Optical scanner works by illuminating light on the finger in contact with the screen. It then takes a picture of your illuminated fingerprint with a camera under the screen and makes sure it’s registered. If it is, the phone unlocks. It is often significantly faster, but less secure. You’ll find optical scanners on OnePlus phones and many midrange devices.
Ultrasonic scanners use ultrasonic waves that bounce off your finger to capture an accurate 3D image. They are significantly more secure than optical ones because it’s much tougher to fake a 3D image of a fingerprint. They are also more stable than optical scanners and work in more challenging conditions, such as when your hands are wet or dirty. You can find these in high-end devices, like Samsung’s Galaxy series.
Watch this video for further clarification: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4tzkD3G_K0
Which of the phones have in-display fingerprint technology:
Phones with in-display fingerprint sensor technology were first introduced in 2018 but with time this technology has improved and polished a lot. Its popularity grew and since then it has become a standard or a necessary addition in almost all the phones. There are lots of phones in the market with this technology nowadays. Some of the phones with in-display fingerprint scanners are listed below:
- Samsung Galaxy S21 series
- OnePlus 8 series
- Xiaomi Mi 11
- Realme X50 Pro
- Asus ROG Phone 3
- Motorola Edge Plus
- Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series
- LG V60
- Oppo Find X2 Pro
- Vivo X21, Nex and V11 Pr serie
- Oppo R17 Pro, Reno 10X Zoom Editio
- Huawei P30 Pr
- Huawei Mate 20 Pro
These fingerprint sensors technology are used in smartphones for security purposes. The advantages of the in-display fingerprint sensor are simple accessibility, due to allocation of sensor underneath of the mobile screen. These in-display fingerprint sensors work for both wet and dry fingers. They are quick, on comparison with examining the face lock, 1.4 Sec’s average is required, against 0.7sec time taken for examining fingerprint.
