Samsung may drop Qualcomms Ultrasonic Fingerprint technology

The next generation of Samsung smartphones may not feature Qualcomm’s Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensors. According to a report by the Korea Times, the move may be in response to growing security concerns regarding the sensors and the publication quotes an analyst who suggests that the South Korean manufacturer may abandon the tech for its future devices.  

“Samsung Electronics applied the ultrasonic fingerprint scanners to its new smartphones despite lingering security concerns," a source told the publication, “The latest security issue involving the new technology could cause other smartphone manufacturers to hesitate to adopt it.”

The optical fingerprint sensor used by phones like the OnePlus 7 creates a 2D map of the fingerprint, which is then used to authenticate the user. Qualcomm’s Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor creates a 3D map to authenticate the user. 

This report comes just a few weeks after it was reported that certain banks were blacklisting Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 phones from either downloading their official apps, or using biometric authentication. Back in April this year, a video surfaced that showed the Galaxy S10 being fooled by a 3D printed fingerprint pattern. To create the 3D map, the user claimed to have taken a photograph of his fingerprint from a wine glass with a smartphone, and then used  software to calculate the depth information. The data was then used to 3D print the fingerprint pattern on a transparent strip.

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