Qualcomm Announces 3D In-Display Fingerprint Sensor

The first day of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Tech Summit held in Maui, Hawaii has come to an end and we now know that the company has partnered with Katouzian in developing a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor for smartphones.

While this is not the first in-display fingerprint sensor, Qualcomm did go around the development in a different way than what we got used to. The company employed the use of a sonic sensor, which does not rely on visual data to recognize your fingerprint. Instead, the sensor uses sound waves that can build a 3D mould of your finger.

Because these sound waves are capable of moulding your fingerprint even down to every ridge and pore, the possibility of the scanner not recognizing your fingerprint or allowing someone else to access your device are slimmer than before.

The sensor will be enabled on the devices that will be using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 platform but it will be the manufacturer’s decision if they use it or not.

The added security it brings to our devices is, of course, a great plus, but we can also expect it to raise the cost of smartphone manufacturing.