A new Apple patent discovered by Patently Apple reveals that the company is developing a new way of implementing Touch ID authentication in modern, all-display iPhones.
The new diagrams show camera sensors installed beneath the display that can detect objects placed on the screen from several different angles. The use of cameras at different angles allows the device to capture a 3D image and detect the tiny ridges and creases in the user’s fingertip, adding an extra layer of security over a 2D image.
Vivo’s X21 is one of many all-display smartphones now using under-display fingerprint sensors.
Apple’s first all-display smartphone, the iPhone X, has foregone fingerprint-based authentication entirely, in favour of facial recognition. Meanwhile, other smartphone makers — including Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi — have gone for under-display fingerprint sensors.
Samsung is rumoured to be incorporating similar capabilities into its next flagship handset, the Galaxy S10, using ultrasonic technology from Qualcomm.
You can take a look at the images from the patent application here.
