New Fujitsu Tablet Sports Iris Recognition

Fujitsu is continuing to bring mobile iris biometrics to the masses in Japan with its new Arrows Tab F-04H. Available through NTT DOCOMO, the new tablet follows in the tradition of previously released Fujitsu smartphones—the Arrows NX F-04G and the Arrows NX F-02H —which made history last year as the first consumer mobile handsets to launch with FIDO Certified iris scanning capabilities.

Like the handsets that preceded it, the Arrows Tab F-04H’s biometrics capabilities come courtesy of Delta ID, an iris recognition company. Founded in 2011, Delta ID’s primary focus has been bringing iris scanning biometrics to consumer tech of all kinds, including smartphones, cars, laptops and (of course) tablets. The launch of the Arrows Tab F-04H is therefore yet another milestone for the company as mobile devices continue to feature new types of biometrics for login, payment authentication, and user profile management—a feature illustrated in the tablet’s recent promotional video.

Once relegated to the status of longstanding rumor, smartphone and tablet iris recognition is now finding increasing acceptance. As large service providers, like Delta ID’s partner Visa, increasingly look to consumers to define the dominant authentication modality, we are continuing to see iris integrated into devices that only a few years ago seemed to be the exclusive realm of fingerprint sensors. As a contactless biometric authentication method, iris is very convenient and secure, and while it isn’t yet widely available, those consumers who do have eye-scanning devices are proving to be enthusiastic.