Face ID and under-screen fingerprint, Apple's paranoia and Android's tolerance

The dominance of the iPhone seems to be broken, both in terms of ID design and choice of technical solutions.

Consumers are not only tired of the iPhone's conservatism, but also begin to hate other mobile phone manufacturers' blind following. The PPT filled with notch screens at the Meizu 16 launch conference is the most naked irony.

Indeed, the popular notch screen in the first half of the year was not a success. Many users do not accept the simple and crude "plagiarism" of Android manufacturers, which can be seen from the market response after the launch of OPPO Find X, vivo NEX and even Meizu 16.

From now on, the new generation of iPhones will continue to use the notch screen design, but the Android flagships in the second half of the year will basically no longer follow the same design, but return to the original state of letting a hundred flowers bloom. Abandoning the idea that "iPhone design is the only design" not only appears in ID design, but also in unlocking methods, the Android camp has more choices.

1. Stubborn Apple is unwilling to be a "learner"

According to Taiwan's Economic Daily News, the new iPhone has entered the countdown to mass production. Apple has certified a large number of key component suppliers in Taiwan, including Largan, Catcher, and GIS-KY, and will enter the official mass production peak this month.

According to the information that has been exposed so far, it is basically confirmed that the new generation of iPhone will continue to use the notch screen design and Face ID unlocking method. Lumentum Holdings, the main supplier of VCSEL dot projector, a key component of Apple's Face ID function 3D sensor module, said that orders from its most important customer will increase significantly in the second quarter and far exceed management's expectations. If nothing unexpected happens, this most important customer is Apple.

In addition, Apple executives’ previous statement that the lifting structure is “good, but we won’t use it” also largely indicates that this year’s new iPhone may continue to use the notch screen design and Face ID unlocking method.

It can be said that fingerprint recognition is a thing of the past for Apple. Of course, it is not that Apple cannot do it, but that it is unwilling to do it.

Before the iPhone X was officially announced last year, many people speculated that Apple would use under-screen fingerprint technology and use the technical support of third-party suppliers. But this is obviously unrealistic, because Apple acquired Authentec, a fingerprint recognition solution supplier, as early as 2012, and Apple had already applied for patents for related technologies in 2015. So Apple has its own fingerprint recognition solution, and even if it uses it, it will use its own technical solution instead of choosing the technology of third-party suppliers. In addition, Apple has repeatedly stated that Face ID is safer and more convenient than the previous Touch ID.

In this regard, Sun Yanbiao, director of the Smartphone Industry Research Institute, told Dongdong Notes: "It's not that Apple doesn't have the technical reserves in this area. In fact, Apple is the first company in the industry to research under-screen fingerprint technology. But now Apple has taken the initiative to give up under-screen fingerprint because it believes that Face ID represents the future unlocking method. In addition, if Apple uses under-screen fingerprint now, Apple will go from being the industry leader to a follower in terms of unlocking. Obviously, it is unwilling to do so because it will damage its brand value."

At the same time, Sun Yanbiao also said: "At this stage, the under-screen fingerprint technology can only be realized under the OLED screen, so the use of under-screen fingerprint technology means that the new generation of iPhones will continue to be equipped with OLED screens. However, the cost of OLED screens is higher than that of traditional LCD screens, which is why the price of iPhone X is very expensive now. The high price also caused Apple's sales to rise but sales to fall. In the past, it was rare for Apple's new products to sell less than 100 million units within 6 months after their release, but this happened with iPhone X. So now Apple wants to launch a product with a relatively low price equipped with an LCD screen to increase sales, and under-screen fingerprints will naturally not appear."

2. The Android vendor that wants it all

Which one is the right unlocking method for the future, 3D structured light face recognition or under-screen fingerprint recognition? This question is not a headache for Android manufacturers, because they want both. It’s just that at present, under-screen fingerprint recognition may be popularized faster.

According to Taiwanese media Digitimes, more than 42 million under-screen fingerprint sensors are expected to be shipped this year, and this number will exceed 100 million next year. This means that next year a large number of Android camp manufacturers will be equipped with under-screen fingerprint technology, not only high-end flagship models, but also mid-range products. As the leader of the Android camp, Samsung revealed its own under-screen fingerprint unlocking technology in the PPT of the Note 9 conference. It is expected that this technology will be first used in the Galaxy S10 in the first half of next year.

OPPO, which will adopt both methods, told Dongdong Notes: "3D structured light unlocking and under-screen fingerprint are not a replacement relationship. Once the nature of these two technologies is clarified, product planning can be done in a targeted manner. However, at present, the cost difference between the two technologies is still relatively large. The cost of 3D structured light is currently only borne by flagship products, but it is not ruled out that the cost will be further reduced after the technology matures."

This also indicates that next year we may not see a large number of products equipped with 3D structured light technology in the mid-range products that will serve as the backbone of sales, but under-screen fingerprint technology is likely to become popular.

In this regard, Sun Yanbiao said: "With the mass production of domestic OLED screens, the cost of screen selection for mobile phone manufacturers will be reduced. Although domestic companies have mastered the technology of 3D structured light at this stage, the cost is still higher."

However, due to the limitations of technology, the existing under-screen fingerprint unlocking technology can only provide a very limited recognition area. At the same time, because it is inside the screen, there is no physical feedback like before, so it is difficult to operate blindly. In most usage scenarios, you still need to take a look to confirm the location of the fingerprint recognition and then touch it to unlock. The unlocking speed and success rate are also slightly weaker than Face ID.

3. In the competition of true full-screen phones, Android is ahead

A higher screen-to-body ratio is the goal that all mobile phone manufacturers are pursuing. We cannot deny that Apple's Face ID is excellent in technology, but from the current perspective, under the current technical level, if Face ID is used without a lifting structure, the much-criticized bangs will continue for a long time.

Therefore, at this stage, screen fingerprint and lifting structure are undoubtedly the best solutions to achieve "true full screen". Therefore, Android manufacturers who don't have so many concerns are obviously more advantageous. With the popularization of COP packaging technology, the chin problem will not exist. Therefore, for mobile phone manufacturers who are pursuing a higher screen-to-body ratio, they only need to choose one of the two solutions, lifting structure or under-screen fingerprint, or both. In the foreseeable future, there will be more and more products with under-screen fingerprint and lifting structure.

As for Apple, we can only hope that the components of Face ID can be made smaller and smaller, so that they can be placed in the tiny forehead frame, or that the face unlocking function can be realized directly under the screen. But for an iPhone that has been used for several years, it is unknown when the next big change will come.