Samsung phones have always been known for their spectacular displays. In fact, one of the reasons the S23 Ultra landed on our best Android phones list was because its screen was the head of its class. As other companies inch closer to the visual quality of Samsung’s displays, the South Korean company is looking to widen the gap again. This time, it’s working on a new OLED panel that will be able to read fingerprints from anywhere on the screen.
Ahead of SID Display Week (Society for Information Display), Samsung teased its slate of projects which included its new Sensor OLED Display that will turn the entire screen into a fingerprint reader (via SamMobile). Many smartphones feature these types of scanners below the display already, but they’re generally locked into a set position because the part required to do so is separate from the panel. Samsung’s new technology will fuse the module into the panel itself, making the entire screen able to read your fingerprint.
Samsung typically uses ultrasonic fingerprint scanners in its devices, but in the brief announcement, it’s not clear if this new technology will use the same type of reader. It’s likely that the company will reveal more during the week, but for now, we can’t confirm that it’ll be quite as fast as the ones it uses in the Galaxy S series.
This new OLED panel won’t just be a massive fingerprint reader, however. It’ll also be able to read people’s heart rates, blood pressure, and stress levels. The OLED light undergoes distinct reflection patterns based on the contraction and relaxation of the blood vessels inside the fingers you’re using to press down on the screen. The same module the panel uses for the fingerprints will be able to convert this data into relevant information about the user’s health.
While Samsung will likely reveal more about this new technology during the week, we probably won’t see it incorporated into devices until next year at the earliest. Still, Samsung has always found new ways to improve the displays on its products, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of upgrades we get on the forthcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5.
