Xiaomi Teases Next-Generation In-Display Fingerprint Sensor for Smartphones

While Oppo was showcasing its upcoming fingerprint sensor at an event in China, Xiaomi Co-Founder and President Lin Bin was teasing the company's own next-generation in-display fingerprint sensor on Chinese social networking website Weibo. Xiaomi's new fingerprint sensor seems to be in a prototype stage right now, so it is unclear when exactly we can see its implementation in commercial devices. Out of the current crop of Xiaomi phones, only one smartphone – Mi 8 Screen Fingerprint Edition – comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Shared by Lin Bin on Weibo on Wednesday, Xiaomi's upcoming in-display fingerprint sensor technology claims to solve two annoyances that the consumers have with current crop of in-display fingerprint sensors. The first one is the lack of one-tap unlocking and the second one is limited sensor active area. Xiaomi's new in-display fingerprint sensor and its software implementation will allow the users to just select the one-tap entry option and they can just touch with the registered finger and they will immediately jump in the software of the phone, rather than needing to tap again after the phone is unlocked to actually reach the software. Pretty much all of the existing fingerprint sensor implementations need at least two taps to reach the home screen or an already open application. Xiaomi want to remove the second tap.

Photo Credit: Weibo/ Lin Bin

The company's new fingerprint sensor also increases the active area many folds. According to the company, the total active sensor area of the new in-display fingerprint sensor is 25mm x 50.2mm, which would cover a significant portion of the screen, making it possible to unlock the phone by touching pretty much anywhere on the screen.

Oppo had also showcased its own next-gen fingerprint sensor earlier this week, with an active sensor area that the company claims is 15 times more than the existing solutions. The company did not share the specific dimensions like Xiaomi.

Lin Bin hasn't given a time-frame on when we can expect to see the new fingerprint sensor implementation in a smartphone. He did say that if the company's fans like the implementation, the company will consider putting in an actual product.