A new Sharp smartphone features biometric authentication technology from Fingerprint Cards. An FPC1145 sensor powers the fingerprint scanning of the Sharp Aquos S2, FPC has revealed.

It’s the same sensor model used in Sharp’s previous phone, the Z3, which was announced earlier this year. Sharp also integrated the FPC1145 into last year’s Aquos Zeta SH-04H and Aquos Xx3 devices, suggesting the company is pleased with FPC’s technology.

There had been some speculation that Sharp’s new device might be the first to launch with an in-display fingerprint sensor – a development that is not implausible, given FPC’s success late last year in develop sensor technology that can operate under glass – but that has not materialized. The Aquos S2 instead features its fingerprint sensor in an elliptical home button at the bottom bezel that nevertheless allows for a large display that takes up almost the whole front face of the device, a design that may prove popular among smartphone makers keen on bigger screens until in-display sensor technology can be realized.

Sources: FPC, PhoneArena.com