The team over at 9 To 5 Google have been having a play with the new Clear ID technology while at CES and here’s what they thought.
OEM’s have been battling to find cutting-edge ways to provide security solutions for our smart devices for a number of years. Ever since the old 4-digit pin and pattern-unlock became retro in the face of Touch ID aka Finger print unlock, IRIS unlock and Face ID have become the next nadir in secure unlocking technology. The iPhone X’s much hyped and much derided Face ID was not the company’s first choice during the milestone device’s development phases if the early rumours are to be believed. What Apple wanted to do (allegedly) was to put touch ID under the screen, but it’s said that the tech wasn’t quite there for Apple standards so they ditched it.
However, Synaptics and Vivo have partnered to deliver the first working device set to join the market that uses Clear ID – Finger print scanning through the device’s screen. As you can see in Ben Schoon’s video above, it looks pretty cool and seems to function well enough, albeit not as rapidly as capacitive fingerprint scanning on current flagship devices. Interestingly, the scanner is visible on the display when it’s turned off, but only at certain angles.
Although it’s in its early days, we expect to see Clear ID becoming increasingly common in smart devices over the next few years. But what do you think of the tech? Would you prefer it to rear or side power-button fingerprint scanners like the Mate 10 Pro, Galaxy S8 or Xperia XZ1 or are you sold on Face ID like that in the iPhone X?
Comments below or via Facebook and Twitter. We’d like to know your thoughts.
