Xiaomi’s Mi 7 Android flagship may boast advanced three-dimensional face recognition solution, according to a recent rumor originating from the company’s home country of China. While a number of Xiaomi’s domestic rivals are presently committing significant resources to commercializing in-screen fingerprint readers, one of the world’s most valuable startups is instead prioritizing a technology that’s more akin to Apple’s Face ID which debuted with the iPhone X earlier this fall. The Beijing-based original equipment manufacturer is reportedly developing the solution in partnership with Qualcomm, Truly Opto-Electronics, and Himax Technologies.
Xiaomi’s 3D face recognition is said to be relying on proprietary hardware and while it’s rumored to debut with the Mi 7, it will likely be adopted by multiple devices from the company planned to be released next year, provided it exists. While Apple presented Face ID as a replacement for fingerprint readers, most industry watchers believe the firm will return to such sensors as soon as it’s able to embed them into mobile display panels. A number of other Chinese tech giants like Huawei and Vivo are presently said to be prioritizing in-screen sensors over 3D face recognition systems, though premium mobile devices are expected to eventually support both types of authentication solutions. Samsung’s efforts to commercialize optical fingerprint readers have been widely reported in recent times yet the South Korean company is now also said to be closer to delivering an advanced iris and face scanning platform than an in-screen scanner.
The Chinese phone maker already confirmed its next Android flagship will be powered by the Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm’s latest and greatest system-on-chip announced earlier this month. The device is also said to ship with a 5.65-inch 18:9 display panel and a dual-camera setup, in addition to running Android 8.0 Oreo-based MIUI 9.0 out of the box. Much like the tall image format coupled with slim bezels ended up being the defining feature of premium smartphones released over the course of this year, new authentication mechanisms such as 3D face recognition and in-screen fingerprint readers are expected to be one of the main selling points of 2018 flagships. Xiaomi is likely to announce the Mi 7 in April, approximately a year after debuting its direct predecessor.