Samsung’s upcoming flagship device, the long awaited Galaxy S8, will feature facial recognition, adding another layer of biometric security on top of an iris scanner and fingerprint reader. According to South Korean outlet, The Investor, the mobile business division has been testing out prototypes.
The Samsung Galaxy S8. Image source: GSMArena.
Due to various leaks, the S8 is now basically an open book. In a report from The Next Web, the device is said to be equipped with thin bezels, a Super AMOLED screen, a revamped Snapdragon 835, and will support wireless charging. There have also been rumors of a new personal digital assistant called Bixby for the Galaxy, which will take on Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant.
Additionally, the new smartphone’s facial recognition scanner will be able to quickly unlock the phone. A Samsung official was quoted as saying the following:
“Due to some limits of iris scanning, such as speed and accuracy, we have decided to add facial recognition to the Galaxy S8. With a face scanner, it will take less than 0.01 seconds to unlock the phone.”
Of course, there are challenges with this growing type of security in smartphones, including making the system intelligent enough to not be fooled by a photograph and handling facial recognition in darker environments.
The news on the S8 came shortly after Apple patents hinted at including face recognition in the next-generation iPhone.
Samsung confirmed that the Galaxy S8 will be formally unveiled at a dedicated launch event in New York on March 29th and will be available for purchase after its launch in mid-April. We’ll learn more about these high-tech new features and see if they live up to the hype then.
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