Vivo smartphone with in-display finger sensor

A speculation about whether Apple or Samsung might integrate the fingerprint sensor under the display of their flagship phones, it is actually China’s Vivo that has got there first. The mechanics of setting up your fingerprint on the phone and then using it to unlock the device and do things like authenticating payments are the same as with a traditional fingerprint sensor.

Vivo is using a newly announced Synaptics optical sensor, which has been in development for years. It works by peering through the gaps between the pixels in an OLED display (LCDs wouldn’t work because of their need for a backlight) and scanning your unique patterns.

Vivo is close to announcing this as-yet-unnamed phone properly and Synaptics is already in mass production with the so-called Clear ID sensor. As the tech is newer and still in the prototyping phase, it shows some slowness. When compared with the traditional fingerprint sensors. But worry not they are going to make it better over time and the best part is time already arrived.