Samsung's purported PolarID feature is said to work without the need for dedicated sensors, unlike Apple's FaceID biometric authentication system.
Samsung is tipped to retain the existing single hole punch camera cutout, even when PolarID arrives
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will introduce a new facial recognition technology when it is launched by the company, according to a tipster. At present, even flagship Samsung smartphones do not feature a dedicated sensor, compared to Apple's Face ID which is powered by its TrueDepth camera as well as additional sensors. Face ID has remained the gold standard for facial recognition technology on mobile devices for nearly eight years, but that may soon change, with a tipster now claiming that Samsung is working on a Face ID competitor that could arrive on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), tipster Haizaki Ryouhei suggested that Samsung may be developing a new facial recognition technology called PolarID. As per the claims, the technology has reached the premarket stage, meaning it could be ready to be shipped with smartphones.
As per the tipster, PolarID does not require dedicated sensors for facial recognition. Instead, it it relies on the Snapdragon chipset, along with the capabilities of Samsung LSI – the division which designs core semiconductors. Furthermore, it would allow Samsung to keep the same hole punch design without needing to add additional sensors.
It is also suggested that the ISOCELL Vizion 931, a global shutter image sensor which offers precise motion tracking, might be production-ready and could be used on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Ryouhei also claimed that PolarID will be “even more secure” than Face ID, emphasizing that it would be better than other facial recognition technologies around.
However, another tipster named Sawyer Galox contradicted these claims, suggesting that the technology isn't ready yet and only the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra may feature it, which is speculated to launch in early 2026.
“The reason is that Samsung is slowly innovating to imitate Apple, and to confirm this, they were able to make 50MP 3x in S24U instead of S25U, and it seems that all of this is in order to save money”, the tipster claimed in an X post.
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