OnePlus has officially revealed that its next flagship, the 6T, will feature an in-display fingerprint sensor. Ever since Vivo teased their in-screen fingerprint sensor at CES this year, everyone’s keen to hop on the bandwagon. We’re pretty sure this will be the next big feature every major mobile phone maker will be trying to include in their devices. In the last upgrade cycle it was notches and edge-to-edge displays, and before that it was dual rear cameras.
We’re expecting the Huawei Mate 20 iterations that’ll be unveiled next month will also have in-display sensors given the (albeit very limited edition, and very expensive) Huawei Porsche Design Mate RS launched earlier this year had one. And we’d be extremely surprised if the next generation of Samsung devices don’t include it, too. Really, the only big name we’re expecting to skip the in-display trend is Apple, which looks likely to go all-in on its FaceID system instead (we’ll find that out for sure tomorrow).
Design changes
It’s small, but it’s a notch, and the untrained eye might mistake it for a smudge on the top bezel. It looks a bit like an upside-down speed bump if you ask us. We’re not notch fans, but then, we’ve also long since realised there’s no point moaning about them… everyone’s doing it, they do make for bigger displays, and Apple and Android have committed to the Notch Life on the software front, so they’re here to stay.
Notch aside, the 6T will reportedly be 0.45mm thicker than its predecessor to accommodate the new in-display sensor. Meanwhile, as the rear fingerprint sensor is no longer needed, so the rear will be sleeker and shinier and distraction free… aside from the dual camera setup.
When can we expect to see it?
CNET posted an image (above) of the upcoming phone’s lock screen to show off the new in-display sensor. While there’s not much to the image, we can clearly see the date listed as 17 October. Now, before we get ahead of ourselves, that could just be a random date.
The conspiracy theorist deep inside us really wants this to be the launch date, though. With Huawei’s big launch in London scheduled for 16 October, if that is the date, it could prove to be either a really smart or really foolish move from OnePlus. Whenever the launch happens, an October release will pit the OnePlus against both Apple’s new devices and Huawei’s… but then, it’s not a company that’s ever let the plans of the big boys concern it, so why start now?
Unofficially…
Rumours about the Samsung Galaxy S10 are already starting to swirl, which makes sense since we tend to see Sammy’s new flagships closer to the beginning of a year rather than the mid-point. Korea-based ET News (via SamMobile) claims that while Samsung isn’t going to be the first to the in-screen fingerprint sensor party, they are going to be the best-dressed.
While other China-based manufacturers, likely including OnePlus, are using Qualcomm’s second-generation ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor (the technology’s been around since 2015), Samsung is said to be the first smartphone maker to make use of Qualcomm’s third-gen in-display fingerprint sensor tech. Which, naturally, will appear in the Galaxy S10.
This might not mark the first in-screen fingerprint device for Samsung, though. There’s talk of Samsung testing the waters in China first with a mid-range device and a cheaper optical sensor, before popping the tech in their range leader. Sadly, we’ll only know more about this one some time in 2019.
Source: CNET