Vivo Is The First To Use Synaptics Clear ID In-Display Fingerprint Scanner

Earlier this week, Synaptics unveiled the world’s first fingerprint scanner that can be embedded in a smartphone’s display. Now it looks like Chinese smartphone maker Vivo will be the first manufacturer that will be able to use the technology for its smartphones.

When Synaptics first announced its fingerprint scanner technology, called Clear ID, the company said that it would begin mass-producing it for a “top-five” smartphone manufacturer. At the time, it was believed that Synaptics was talking about Samsung. In the company’s press release, it specifically mentioned that the Clear ID fingerprint scanner is designed for smartphones with “infinity displays,” which is also what Samsung calls the displays that are on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8.

However, Forbes learned from analyst Patrick Moorhead that Synaptics is shipping Clear ID to Chinese phone maker Vivo. Moorhead was also able to try out the technology for himself and shared his experience. He remarked that it was “impressive” and that it was “fast and simple.” Moorhead said that he was able to try out the in-display fingerprint scanner using a pre-production smartphone unit from Vivo.

The Synaptics Clear ID fingerprint scanner will be able to work on any smartphone with OLED displays and it will only activate when it’s needed. Users will simply have to wake the phone by pressing the right side button and place their finger where an illuminated fingerprint is shown at the bottom portion of the display. Moorhead said that he expects Vivo will still modify how Clear ID works since a “hold to wake” feature seems more convenient than pressing a physical button.

Overall, it looks like the Synaptics Clear ID technology is very reliable based on Moorhead’s experience. This is clearly setting a path for more smartphones to come with an “all-screen” design that integrates the fingerprint scanner with the display.

As for Vivo, the brand isn’t too popular in the west, but it’s one of the biggest smartphone brands in the world. The company was ranked fifth in IDC’s Q1 2017 report, as pointed out by The Verge. Vivo also made headlines back in June when it demonstrated an in-display fingerprint scanner from Qualcomm. It’s not clear why Vivo decided to use Synaptics’s Clear ID, but it was said that Qualcomm’s in-display fingerprint scanner was slow.

Synaptics says that it plans to ship a total 70 million units of its in-display fingerprint scanner in 2018. Meanwhile, Vivo hasn’t given out any details on which of its new upcoming smartphones will use the technology.