Samsung Sourcing Fingerprint Sensors For Galaxy On From Suppliers Aside From Synaptics, FPC

Samsung is said to be in the process of securing a deal with fingerprint scanner makers for its budget-friendly smartphone, but the South Korea tech giant is not considering major players Sweden-based FPC and U.S.-based Synaptics. Samsung is reportedly looking to make partnerships with smaller fingerprint scanner vendors in its homeland.

According to The Investor, Samsung Electronics is in talks with two fingerprint module producers in South Korea as it prepares the mass production of its budget smartphone, the Galaxy On. Despite being an entry-level handset, Samsung wants the Galaxy On to have a fingerprint scanner perhaps to help the device perform well in the market.

Insider information revealed that one of the prospective suppliers has actually been trying to supply its fingerprint modules to Samsung for a while now. On the contrary, the other supplier just joined the fingerprint scanner market because it previously focused on producing camera modules until recently.

Though the deal has yet to be set in stone, people with knowledge on the matter already know that the two suppliers will be tasked to provide the South Korea tech giant with up to 2 million modules for the company’s entry-level smartphone.

Though Samsung has yet to confirm the existence of the deal, PhoneArena already believes that there is actually a good reason why Samsung should source its scanners from other suppliers. The news site stated that this will help the company implement the fingerprint scanner across its entire catalog of smartphones. Having local module manufacturers on its side would mean reduced cost of securing fingerprint readers for its affordable smartphones. Thus, in no time, the fingerprint-scanning feature would not be limited to its high-end handsets only.

On top of bringing the fingerprint scanner to its budget devices, the deal also signals Samsung's desire to diversify its suppliers. Should the deal push through, Samsung could produce more handsets with fingerprint-scanning functionality because it can manufacture modules in-house and get other supplies from big names in the global market and even from local suppliers.

The news about Samsung sourcing fingerprint modules from local vendors comes weeks after reports about the South Korean brand’s attempts at manufacturing its own fingerprint scanners surfaced. Word has it that Samsung’s System LSI division was already working on the company’s own fingerprint scanner chips since 2015, but the tech giant wouldn’t be able to commercialize them until 2017, as per SamMobile.