Qualcomm announced the second generation of its 3D Sonic in-display fingerprint sensor at the ongoing Snapdragon Tech Summit 2019 in Hawaii. Called 3D Sonic Max, the new fingerprint sensor is a lot bigger than last year’s 3D Sonic Sensor, 17 times bigger to be exact. In fact, the 3D Sonic Max is so big that it can read two fingerprints at once. This allows for increased security, as well as increased speed and ease of use, according to Qualcomm.
The 3D Sonic Sensor, which made its debut in Samsung’s Galaxy S10 earlier this year, uses ultrasound to read your fingerprints. This system has a couple of benefits over the optical in-display fingerprint readers. Firstly, it can better read the impression of a wet finger. It also offers better reliability and security.
However, there are some downsides as well. It’s not as fast as optical or capacitive sensors. Further, its tiny size means you need to carefully position your finger at the right spot for it to read prints accurately. Qualcomm is looking to address these issues with the new 3D Sonic Max.
While last year’s 3D Sonic Sensor measured 4mm x 9mm, the new 3D Sonic Max measures 20mm x 30mm. This 17 times larger area should quite comfortably eliminate the finger positioning issues, thus improving the recognition speed. Also, a smaller sensor would only detect part of your finger, while a larger sensor captures more information, making it more secure. Qualcomm says the new sensor delivers a 1::1,000,000 accuracy (1 in a million accuracy rate), as opposed to 1::50,000 in the previous generation.
Given its big size, the new Qualcomm 3D Sonic Max in-display fingerprint sensor should be suitable for automotive as well. However, smartphones are likely to employ it first.
Samsung Galaxy S11 could employ the 3D Sonic Max
Samsung was the first OEM to use Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic in-display fingerprint sensor. However, that high-profile debut was plagued by a number of issues. Soon after the device was released, a user claimed that the in-display fingerprint sensor could be easily fooled using a 3D-printed copy of a fingerprint. Samsung has since improved the Galaxy S10’s fingerprint recognition with multiple software updates, but problems still persist.
Most recently, it was reported that certain screen protectors allowed the device to inaccurately recognizing patterns formed on them as a fingerprint. This means anybody could easily unlock the device. Samsung has fixed this issue as well with a software update. However, these issues arising in the first place means everything is not right with Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic in-display fingerprint sensor. We’ll have to wait and see how the new 3D Sonic Max fares.
The new sensor should start making its way into devices early next year. Samsung’s Galaxy S11 could be one of the first to employ this second-generation in-display fingerprint sensor. The handset launches in February next year.