This threat to Samsung stems from a new partnership between chipmaker Qualcomm and display maker BOE (via CNET). The partnership will integrate Qualcomm's 3D sonic sensors with BOE's flexible displays. The partnership also includes work on "XR" (virtual and augmented reality) and smart home technologies.
Most smartphones with fingerprint scanners use optical sensors that use light to scan, store, and recognize fingerprints, much like a standard camera. Qualcomm's ultrasonic sensors, currently used by Samsung only in the Galaxy S20 series, Galaxy Note 10 series, and Galaxy S10 series, use sound waves to map fingers instead.
Samsung claims that this version of its fingerprint reading technology is faster and more secure than the optical fingerprint scanners on the OnePlus 8 Pro and other devices. However, some users find it slower to register a touch than the optical scanner, and before a major software patch was applied, it was possible to fool the sensor with a screen protector.
BOE claims to be the world's second largest display manufacturer (Samsung is number one) and the largest in the smartphone field. Its products are used in foldable phones such as the Motorola Razr (2020), Huawei Mate X and Mate Xs, and standard phones made by companies such as Oppo and Nubia.
Foldable phones typically use side-mounted capacitive fingerprint sensors for security, but with the Qualcomm-BOE partnership, future generations of foldable phones could include the same kind of fingerprint sensors that we are accustomed to in slate format phones.
Qualcomm and BOE estimate that the first devices resulting from this new agreement will appear in the second half of this year. This could mean that a Chinese device, a rival to the Galaxy Fold 2 (due out around August), could appear with a fingerprint sensor under the display. We expect multiple upgrades to the Fold 2, including a new camera, stronger build quality, and upgraded internals, but an under-display fingerprint scanner is not one of them.
The Galaxy Fold 2 is expected to launch at the same time as the Galaxy Note 20 and will be based on the Note 10 with an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. The phone is also expected to feature a larger 120Hz display, Galaxy S20 Plus and Galaxy S20 Ultra cameras, an upgraded S Pen with new gestures, and possibly an under-display camera, at least based on rumors currently circulating
The S20 Ultra is expected to be the first phone to feature an under-display camera.
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