NEWS

Qualcomm to launch a second-gen ultrasonic sensor for upcoming phones

Dhruv Rawat

Feb 22,2024
2 min read
7
1.73 thousand Views

Qualcomm has now come out with its second-gen 3D Sonic Sensor which according to the stats revealed boasts tremendous improvement over the existing gen-1 sensors. These 3D Sonic Sensors were first developed to make in-display fingerprint sensors. These use sound waves to scan a fingerprint and to be used as a security solution. The first generation was not so good when compared to the existing traditional optical in-display fingerprint sensors. These 3D Sonic Sensors were comparatively slow, inaccurate and the scan area was also smaller hence partial print.

But with the Gen-2 out, Qualcomm is set to change all of this. Qualcomm has worked hard to improve on all these deficiencies and developed a product that is much faster than its predecessor, offers more area for scanning, and is still comparatively thinner. Apart from this since the sensor is only 0.2 mm thick, the sensor can work in tandem with flexible panels that are currently in use to make foldable devices.

If we go into the number game, the 3D Sonic Sensor gen-2 has a 77 percent larger scan area when compared to the existing one. The gen-1 measured 4 x 9 mm, while the gen-2 measures 8 x 8 mm. With the help of a larger scan area the new sensor is now capable of capturing up to 1.7 times more biometric data hence it's a better security solution. Apart from all the physical properties, let's get into its computational power. The gen-2 is approximately 50 percent faster than gen-1. The gen-2 has no trouble scanning wet fingers which is a major problem with the traditional optical sensor.

Qualcomm has stated that the devices with Gen-2 3D Sonic Scanners should start coming out in Q1 2021. It is also highly likely that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21 could be a device that uses this technology. Since the sensor can work with foldable devices we can also see this sensor to feature in Samsung's Fold devices. All these values are what Qualcomm has claimed their sensor can achieve, but to verify it we have to try the new sensor.