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the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors used in other Samsung phones are expected to be lost, while rival foldable phones will launch with the technology in the coming months.
This threat to Samsung comes from chipmaker Qualcomm’s new partnership with display maker BOE (via CNET) The agreement will unite Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic sensors with BOE’s flexible displays. The partnership will also include work on “XR” (virtual and augmented reality) and smart home technology.
Most smartphones with fingerprint scanners use optical sensors, which use light to scan, save, and recognize prints, just like a standard camera. Qualcomm’s ultrasonic sensors are currently only used by Samsung in the Galaxy S20 Serie, Galaxy Note 10 series and the Galaxy S10 series, use sound waves to map your finger instead.
Samsung claims that this version of the fingerprint reading technology is faster and more secure than the optical fingerprint scanners found in OnePlus 8 Pro. However, some users find that it is slower to register touches than an optical scanner, and before a major software patch it was possible to trick the sensor using a screen saver.
BOE is the second largest display manufacturer in the world (Samsung is number one), and claims to be the largest in the smartphone space. Its products have reached folding phones like the Motorola Razr (2020) and also him Huawei Mate X and Mate Xsas well as standard phones made by companies like Oppo and Nubia.
Foldable phones generally use laterally mounted capacitive fingerprint sensors for security, but the Qualcomm-BOE partnership could mean that future generations of foldable phones could be equipped with the same type of fingerprint sensors as the whiteboard phones that we are used to it.
Qualcomm and BOE estimate that the first devices resulting from this new agreement will appear in the second half of this year. That could mean we see a Chinese rival to the Galaxy Fold 2 (to be released around August) with an under-screen fingerprint sensor. While we’re anticipating multiple updates to the Fold 2, including new cameras, stronger build quality, and improved internal components, an under-screen fingerprint scanner isn’t one of them.
Galaxy Fold 2 is expected to launch at the same time as the Galaxy Note 20, which according to Note 10 will include an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. This phone is also expected to include a large 120Hz screen, cameras from the Galaxy S20 Plus or Galaxy S20 Ultra, an updated S-Pen with new gestures and perhaps even an under-screen camera, at least according to current rumors circulating.
