Xiaomi shows prototype of larger fingerprint scanner behind screen

A Xiaomi CEO has shown a prototype of a fingerprint scanner behind the screen with a much larger surface than now, allowing users to unlock the phone blindly. The technology also works faster than on current smartphones.

The surface for the fingerprint scanner is 50.2x25mm, Xiaomi CEO Bin Lin reports in a Weibo post. For example, the screen of the Xiaomi Mi A2 is around 136x68mm. This would allow users to unlock the phone on a larger area of ​​the screen than is currently possible. The current optical fingerprint scanners behind the screen have an area that is much smaller.

In addition, Xiaomi’s new implementation no longer requires users to activate the screen by lifting the phone, for example, but works directly when users put their finger on the scanner. Lin does not promise in the post that the technology will be in a future smartphone, but does acknowledge that Xiaomi has been working on it over the past six months.

Optical fingerprint scanners behind the screen have been in smartphones since last year. The OnePlus 6T, Vivo Nex and Huawei Mate 20 Pro, among others, have it on board. They work with a cmos sensor that can also be found in cameras behind the screen, which can detect the fingerprint thanks to the light from the screen. This sensor from Xiaomi also seems to be an optical scanner.

Manufacturers are also working on behind-the-screen ultrasonic scanners, which use ultrasonic signals to detect the fingerprint. When they will appear in smartphones is unknown for the time being.