Apple Developing Advanced Display-Embedded Fingerprint Reader? New Patent Suggests So

Apple may have given up on including a display-embedded fingerprint reader in the upcoming iPhone 8, but it is definitely still aspiring to come up with such a technology for its future handsets. As a matter of fact, the Cupertino giant has just been granted a patent that contains key information on the type of sub-display fingerprint sensor it intends to develop.

This Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Tim Cook’s company a patent for what Apple could be preparing for its next flagship smartphone after this year’s 10th anniversary iPhone. Patent No. 9,747,488, which is titled “Active sensing element for acoustic imaging systems,” details how an advanced technology can gather biometric data, specifically fingerprints, using ultrasonic transmission and detection.

The acoustic fingerprint imaging system described in the patent has a transducer, an independent drive and a sense circuitry. The transducers used are piezoelectric, and they are arranged in a pattern close to the bottom of a given substrate. The components gather image data of the finger that’s placed at the top surface of the substrate using acoustic impulses.

The processed fingerprint images can be used to authenticate users in a similar way as Touch ID. Compared to the current fingerprint reading hardware Apple is using, the one that it could be developing based on this new patent will not require optical access to the finger’s surface. Hence, the ultrasonic transducers that the acoustic fingerprint imaging system has could be placed just below a display, as per Apple Insider.

The modes of operation, voltage tolerances and the different embodiments of the invention are discussed in specific details in the patent that was first filed back in August 2015. What’s most important to note at this point is the fact that Apple appears to be very serious in getting rid of the signature home button on its iPhones. With an advanced fingerprint reader such as the one in the new patent, it easy to see that Samsung’s biggest rival really plans on adopting a sub-screen fingerprint reader in the near future.

For now though, Apple is focused on finalizing the advanced facial recognition technology that it would debut with the iPhone 8. The company has reportedly created a depth-sensing camera hardware that will implement a new type of biometric technology, which requires the recognition of facial features. This technology is expected to be useful in authenticating users and mobile payment transactions.

Apple is set to unveil the new flagship iPhone — the company’s first OLED smartphone — on Sept 12. Apart from sporting fingerprint-scanning and facial recognition technologies, the handset is also rumored to come in a bezel-less form factor. There’s also mention of wireless charging and a vertically aligned dual-camera module among other new features that the phone is expected to sport.

Apart from the iPhone 8, Apple’s Sept. 12 launch event will also serve as the venue for the launch of the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus, as well as the Apple Watch Series 3 and the next-generation Apple TV with 4K resolution and HDR.