Smart like the iPhone: TV remote control becomes the next stop for fingerprint recognition

"I think TV is the display of mobile phone, and mobile phone is the remote control of TV." Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi Technology, expressed his views on the future of smart TV at the World Internet Conference not long ago.

According to Lei Jun's thinking, the remote control of smart TV will eventually merge with the smart phone. Judging from the current product trends, most businesses have realized this problem and started to make the remote control as smart as the mobile phone. It is foreseeable that the fingerprint recognition technology, which is becoming the mainstream configuration of smart phones, will also realize its application value on TV remote control in the future.

Solving payment problems will be the first stop

At present, when users watch online videos, play games, and shop online on smart TVs, the entire operation experience is very smooth, but the only thing that gets stuck is the payment process. The complicated operation process requires either ending the video or game or choosing cash on delivery. Especially for the elderly, learning to use mobile phones and computers to surf the Internet is very difficult, but operating a TV is still easy for them to get started.

Refer to Apple's application of fingerprint recognition technology. Users only need to enter fingerprint information on iPhone, iPad and other terminals, and they can avoid the tedious steps of entering passwords. For example, when users purchase applications in the App Store, when checking out, they only need to press the home button with their fingers instead of entering passwords, which greatly simplifies the intermediate links of payment.

At present, Alipay and Tencent's WeChat Pay have both entered the TV market, and the main payment method is to scan the QR code on the mobile terminal. However, one problem users face is that if they want to complete the payment, they must put down the remote control, pick up the smartphone to scan the QR code, and then enter the payment password on the smartphone and click to confirm. TV shopping is fine, but if the player is playing a game on TV, the cumbersome payment operation will definitely affect the gaming experience.

Therefore, fingerprint recognition technology will play a role in making up for the shortcomings of TV remote controls with very few buttons. If somatosensory, voice recognition, and touch screen technologies have solved the problem of remote control operation, then fingerprint recognition technology will solve the problem of TV profitability.

The imagination space can be even greater

It is foreseeable that solving the payment problem is just the beginning of the application of fingerprint recognition technology. If it is imagined as a user ID and used as an identity to unlock any application, then its imagination space on the TV side will be even greater.

Apple, the pioneer of fingerprint recognition technology, has a longer-term vision. As early as 2009, it applied for a patent for a "magic wand" remote control, which described a dynamic detection component that could support a TV interface. Last year, Apple obtained another patent related to the "magic wand". The technology described in this patent includes a fingerprint reader, which can automatically call up the corresponding personalized content based on the user's fingerprint recognition.

Similarly, Microsoft also provides personalized content for users in its game console Xbox One, but the difference is that Xbox One recognizes users through voice. However, today, it is obvious that fingerprint recognition has a better market prospect than sound wave recognition.

Because television has a strong public nature and it is difficult for it to belong to only one family member, it is very likely to become a trend to make personalized settings for different family members on a TV. For example, larger fonts appear when the elderly use it, child lock function for children, content preference recommendation, private video hiding, etc., can all be recognized by the remote control to identify the user identity and display a custom usage interface.

It is understood that the fingerprint recognition module is mainly composed of chips, sapphire, metal rings, soft boards, carrier boards, etc. The cost of fingerprint recognition modules such as those made by Apple and Goodix, which use sapphire as a protective layer, is about US$10-13. There are also reports that the cost of the fingerprint sensor for iPhone 5s from Authentec is US$7 (about RMB 43). From the perspective of cost, the large-scale application of fingerprint recognition technology on TVs is not a problem. After all, the price of an ordinary smart TV is more than RMB 1,000.

Finally, regarding the application of fingerprint recognition technology in TV remote controls, I would like to borrow a phrase from Jack Ma, the richest man in China: "You still have to have dreams, because what if they come true someday?"

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.