In the future, we could see smartphones without garish home buttons, as LG has recently developed a unique buttonless fingerprint scanner.
Fingerprint scanners have traditionally sat either above or beneath the profile of the device they’re mounted on. Yet now, thanks to LG’s development of a buttonless fingerprint scanner, we could see such units mounted underneath the panels of smartphones and tablets instead.
Fingerprint sensors usually require a distinct piece of hardware to be mounted abroad a smartphone; a visible example being Samsung’s fingerprint sensors aboard its flagship Galaxy S range.
Read: Apple patent filing turns entire display into fingerprint sensor
Now, LG’s patent offers a new option for manufacturers to incorporate biometric security into their devices through a buttonless fingerprint scanner that would sit underneath glass.
Innotek – the subsidiary of LG that developed the technology – has stated that the fingerprint scanner reads with a 99.998% accuracy, and will further improve waterproofing capabilities.
However, the company has yet to announce any phones or manufactures which will adopt its new technology. It would be natural to assume that the successor to the LG G5 – which features a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner – would incorporate a buttonless fingerprint scanner.
Further, Apple previously has made use of LG displays and could potentially integrate the technology into its next iPhone, removing the recess needed for its own Touch ID scanner.
The move could greatly disrupt the traditional implementation of fingerprint scanners, which traditionally have been placed either on the bottom or rear panel of smartphones. Sony’s recent Xperia Z5 featured a side-mounted fingerprint scanner instead.
Read: Sony Xperia Z5 Review: The gentleman rockstar
What are your thoughts on LG’s latest development? Would an embedded fingerprint scanner be of more interest to you than what we’ve seen in the past? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
Source: CNET
