Market research group TechNavio has released a new report on the Chinese biometrics market, and its prospects are good. The report, entitled “Biometrics Market in China“, predicts growth at an annual rate of 14.8 percent (CAGR) between 2015 and 2019.
TechNavio says that the growth will mostly be led by mobile-based biometrics systems. That’s no big surprise: After Apple began to popularize fingerprint-scanning with the TouchID system embedded in its newest mobile devices, other smartphone makers have followed suite, even those at the lower end of the smartphone spectrum in terms of technological sophistication and price point. And with multiple mobile commerce services poised to begin operations in China over the next year, that kind of technology will be seen as even more important, by developers and consumers alike.
What’s a little more unexpected is the possibility that facial recognition could also become a major biometric factor; TechNavio says that the technology had previously been limited to government applications, but is now “in its nascent stage of development.” Indeed, with Android’s Lollipop OS already experimenting with a Face Unlock feature for mobile devices, and calls from security experts for greater use of multi-factor authentication, it could prove to be an important partner to fingerprint scanning in future mobile security systems.
The report also notes that another important market driver is increasing demand for electronic passports and national identification cards, which might indicate that China is planning to follow India’s lead in implementing a nationwide system of biometric citizen ID, whether for the purpose of border control or administrative services or both. Combined with biometrics’ expanding presence in the mobile world, and with an extra push from demand for smart cards for access control purposes, this all makes for some exciting prospects in the Chinese market over the next several years.
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