New reports have revealed that Microsoft’s long-awaited Surface Phone could have a fingerprint scanner embedded directly into its display.
While recent news indicates that Microsoft’s Surface Phone seems to take three steps back down the beaten path the more we continue to approach it, that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from turning.
Although the company’s supposed Surface Phone has been pushed back to a 2018 launch, a new report indicates an interesting hardware development: Microsoft’s flagship phone might have a fingerprint scanner embedded directly into its display.
Read: Microsoft reportedly delays the release of its “˜Surface Phone‘ by a year
That’s a rumour that has circulated around the existence of 2018’s iPhone as well – rumours tell that Apple might introduce an all-glass iPhone that would do away with a home button and could potentially use 3D Touch technology to recognise a thumbprint.
The news surrounding Microsoft’s flagship phone comes as a result of a recently filed patent that could bring innate fingerprint sensing capabilities to both LCD and OLED displays.
The patent details (in layman’s terms) a system that would embed a sensor to the side of a phone screen; that sensor would recognise the ridges of a user’s thumbprint.
If implemented, this would be the second proprietary feature that could potentially arrive on the Surface Phone. Earlier this year, Microsoft demonstrated its answer to 3D Touch in the form of Hover Gestures – a technology which would anticipate a user’s movement across a touchscreen and would execute actions ahead of actually being prompted.
Both of these features together could create an incentive hardware platform for app developers to capitalise on – something Windows Phone desperately needs.
Read: Windows Phone market share is now officially below 1%
What are your thoughts on Microsoft’s Surface Phone? Could Microsoft’s supposed flagship – and Windows 10 Mobile saviour – ever see the light of day? Be sure to let us know your opinion in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
