Huawei could bring full-display fingerprint biometrics to mobile devices

Biometric device unlocking with fingerprint scanning may soon be possible by pressing anywhere on the touchscreen, as Huawei has filed a patent for all-screen fingerprint unlocking technology, according to Android Authority.

The company confirmed to Android Authority that it has patents pending in China, Europe, the U.S., Japan, Korea and India for the technology.

The patent applications note possible use cases including fingerprint verification to open certain apps with a single tap, rather than the multi-step app unlocking process available from some OEMs today, or accessing an SMS app and responding to a text without actually unlocking the device.

Sensors could be made active in one area and inactive elsewhere to reduce battery use, according to the filings.

Huawei has also been working on applications which demand a relatively high level of security, including its Huawei Pay wallet, which uses biometrics for contactless device-based payments and expanded to Thailand in June.

Vivo demonstrated similar full-screen fingerprint sensing technology on its Vivo Apex 2019 concept phone last year.

Synaptics, meanwhile, noted the possibility of full-screen fingerprint sensing enabling continuous authentication back in 2018, shortly after it began mass producing early in-display smartphone sensors.

Article Topics

access management  |  biometrics  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Huawei  |  mobile device  |  patents