BRIEF: Has The In-Display Fingerprint Revolution Finally Arrived?

At the start of last year, it looked like in-display fingerprint recognition was going to be the next big thing in mobile biometrics. With fingerprint sensors having established themselves as a standard feature of the contemporary smartphone, companies were looking ahead to where the technology might go next, and the pioneering under-glass sensors in new devices from Huawei pointed emphatically in that direction. And by the start of summer, multiple biometrics specialists had announced that they had developed viable in-display technology.

Then things kind of stalled. Reports emerged that Apple was stumbling in its own secretive efforts to develop the technology, and Samsung failed to bring it to market in its new Note device despite persistent rumors that it would. When Apple revealed that its new iPhone X had actually done away with fingerprint recognition entirely in favor of a new face-scanning system, many industry watchers wondered if this signaled a coming shift.

And yet, here in early 2018, it looks like the in-display revolution might have finally arrived. Here’s why:

Major biometrics specialists are banking on in-display technology to get a competitive edge in the mobile market:

Egis Technology Showcases Facial Recognition and In-Display Fingerprint Biometrics at MWC

Suprema’s New In-Display Fingerprint Tech and 3D Facial Recognition Aimed at Smartphone Market

FPC Announces In-Display Fingerprint Sensor Tech

Meanwhile, smaller mobile brands are looking to in-display fingerprint scanning technology to get a leg up on the competition, even beating the top tier brands to the punch:

In-Display Fingerprint Sensor Comes Away from CES on Wave of Acclaim

Huawei Dives Into In-Display Fingerprint Scanning with New Porsche Design Phone

Nokia Developing Smartphone with In-Display Fingerprint Sensor: Leak

iPhone X Copycat to Feature In-Display Fingerprint Sensor

… And thus a new arms race in mobile biometrics has begun:

Vivo Concept Phone Can Scan Multiple Fingerprints At Once Through The Display

Samsung Considering In-Display Sensor for Note 9