Samsung Brings Iris Scanning to Tablet Line

Samsung has brought its iris recognition technology to the tablet.

The company has officially launched the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, and it looks like the device relies primarily on iris scanning for user authentication. It doesn’t even feature a fingerprint sensor.

Curiously, in its announcement of the device, Samsung scarcely mentioned its iris scanner. Nor was there any mention at all of Intelligent Scan, the larger authentication mechanism combining iris scanning with facial recognition that Samsung had been touting with this year’s Galaxy S9 smartphone. It isn’t clear if the Galaxy Tab S4 uses the full Intelligent Scan system, but Samsung’s support documentation for developers includes an instructional video on the system, suggesting that it has been implemented in the new tablet.

While Samsung’s reticence on the biometric security of its new tablet is surprising, it may simply be that the company wanted to highlight some of its other flagship features. In announcing the device, the company emphasized its incorporation of Samsung DeX, a system allowing users to toggle between an Android mobile interface and a desktop interface; its use of the S Pen stylus for enhanced interactivity; and a high-resolution Super AMOLED display that is larger than the one featured in the Galaxy Tab S3 thanks to its smaller bezels – which, of course, were facilitated by the removal of the fingerprint sensor and the focus on iris scanning.