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Forget the iPhone 8, the first phone with an in-screen fingerprint scanner could come from Vivo instead

By Kaloyan C.

Updated: Jun 22, 2017, 5:18 AM

15comments

Android

Forget the iPhone 8, the first phone with an in-screen fingerprint scanner could come from Vivo instead

By now you've surely heard the widespread rumors about the iPhone 8's fingerprint scanner situation: there's a distinct possibility Apple's latest flagship will be equipped with an in-screen sensor (or will it?), instead of the regular, standalone solution employed by everyone on the market. However, as is becoming increasingly common, a relatively unknown Chinese manufacturer, namely Vivo, may beat Apple to the punch.

Vivo, for those not in the know, is something of a sister company to the slightly more well-known Oppo, most commonly known as being OnePlus' parent company. But in its homeland of China, the manufacturer enjoys relatively good popularity, holding a quite noteworthy 17 percent of the local smartphone market. Still, it's fair to its current lineup doesn't exactly present any noteworthy devices: Vivo phones are firmly rooted in the mid range, both in terms of specs and looks.

But this may change very soon, as we're expecting Vivo to debut the first ever device with a fingerprint scanner built right into the display in less than a week. The news comes from an official teaser for the company's showing at this year's Mobile World Congress Shanghai starting on June 28 (yes, there is more than one MWC). The teaser, which can be seen above, only shows a stylized fingerprint graphic passing through a rectangle, along with the words "Unlock the future" in Chinese and English.

This could, of course, mean a variety of other things not related to an in-screen fingerprint scanner, but a week ago a video allegedly showing a device equipped with the technology in action surfaced on Chinese social network Weibo:

But while the video is, admittedly, of questionable origin, it's fair to say we should be seeing something exciting from the company come next week. And, as it turns out, this isn't the only unique Chinese-made device we'll be seeing in the near future. Rival company Meizu should be showing off its weird-looking Pro 7 some time soon as well, possibly even at MWC Shanghai, too (though this is pure speculation on our part).

And it sure will be interesting to see how Vivo's solution will perform compared with the iPhone 8's (if the latter even has one, that is). This is because, as evidenced by all the trouble both Apple and Samsung have been having with the technology, it seems an in-screen fingerprint scanner isn't trivial to produce. So if a cheap phone manufacturer such as Vivo has managed to develop the tech, there's a fair chance it's cut some corners like speed and security.

source: Weibo (1, 2) via GSMArena