Samsung Galaxy S9 to Have an Improved Iris Scanner: Report

Samsung has made a lasting impression in the smartphone market with the previous few generations of the Galaxy S flagship series. With the Galaxy S9 expected to launch early next year, the South Korean giant is making sure to leave no stones unturned. The iris scanner, one of Samsung's popular biometric security features, is rumoured to be getting an upgrade with the S9.

According to a new report by The Korea Herald, the iris scanner of the Samsung Galaxy S9 will be improved to better recognise users' eyes, a big step towards secure biometric verification in banking and other transactions. An iris scanner differentiates users by verifying the iris in your eyes, with the complex patterns in each iris supposedly giving it a unique identity.

This improvement will reportedly be achieved by increasing the lens size to 3-megapixels from the earlier 2-megapixels on the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note 8. This will apparently increase the clarity of the iris scanner giving users better security even when they have glasses on or when they are in light or dark environments.

"Iris scanner is the safest biometric authentication (among iris, fingerprint and face recognition) and we will continue to improve the system for upcoming smartphones for safer banking transactions," a Samsung spokesperson told The Korea Herald.

These developments come in the wake of Face ID - Apple's facial recognition technology - gaining ground in the market. Samsung, much like Apple, is now extending security to digital banking transactions, with Samsung Pay getting support for iris and fingerprint verification. The tech giant has also partnered with multiple local banks in South Korea to incorporate their transactions onto the Galaxy range, secured by verification methods like iris scanning and fingerprint recognition.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are expected to launch early next year, though Samsung dismissed earlier reports that the phones may be previewed at CES.