LG plans to put smartphone fingerprint sensors beneath the glass
Who needs a button? LG's new tech goes right under the bezel
Fingerprint sensors are rapidly becoming standard on flagship smartphones, with eight of our 10 favourite phones in the world right now bearing one on the front or back – and LG has a bright idea for the next generation of them.
In short, you won’t be able to find it on sight: there won’t be a button on the front or a circular sensor on the back. Instead, LG’s concept embeds a small sensor beneath the front glass panel, at the bottom, so you can simply hold your finger on the glass to have the fingerprint read.
LG’s component-designing Innotek division unveiled the technology earlier today, claiming that it will allow for better waterproofing on phones, plus there’s no need to build around a physical button on any surface of the phone.
“LG Innotek cut a shallow furrow of 0.01in thick on the lower backside of the cover glass and installed the fingerprint sensor inside of it with using their supreme precision and combination technology,” reads the press release. “High-strength cover glass protects the sensor and prevents it from coming in direct contact with water or damage from scratches.”
Additionally, LG says the recognition rate is on par with other button-like sensors, so it should really only provide benefit to manufacturers who opt not to have a physical home button or separate fingerprint sensor on the device.
As for who might launch the first device with such a technology, it surprisingly might not be LG itself: a spokeswoman told the Korea Times that they’re "in talks with some handset manufacturers to commercialise the new modules within a year." In other words, it could well show up on the LG G6 in a year or so – or it could wind up elsewhere.
[Sources: LG Innotek, Korea Times via The Verge]
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Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
