Samsung is about to release its sixth-generation foldables. However, a patent application from the company hints that they are already working on making future foldable and rollable foldables stand out from the competition.
The patent application is about a display technology the company is working on, that will let users unlock the phone by touching anywhere on the screen and not a specific area of that. The abstract of the application notes that the display will have “a fingerprint recognition sensor layer under the display panel”.
The technology aims at “integrating a fingerprint recognition sensor into the display panel, which is the component that occupies the largest area in a portable information communication device,” says the patent application.
So the company’s goal is to develop a display that can implement a fingerprint recognition sensor without a separate external light source. Reportedly, it will also provide improved fingerprint recognition characteristics. In the attached feature the thickness of the layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.
Upcoming Galaxy foldables could use the new display technology
Currently, the expensive foldables come with side-mounted finger sensors. However, it could be replaced with the full-screen under-display fingerprint scanner in the near future. @xleaks7 also believes that the new technology could be used in Samsung’s upcoming foldable smartphones such as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and rollable devices. The patent also reveals that the first and second bases could be flexible.
Many people get disappointed by the side-mounted sensor on a foldable device that costs nearly $2000. This is also a problem the new development will be able to solve.
Reducing the thickness of the phone is reportedly one of the reasons to use a side-mounted fingerprint sensor on a foldable. We will need to see if Samsung manages to solve this problem by integrating the fingerprint recognition system into the display panel.
