Will Samsung be the first with secure face unlock under the screen?

Technology to put the front camera under the screen has been around for years but the solution hasn’t become mainstream yet. The cameras are now almost invisible, like in the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra, but they still don’t take as good pictures as traditional counterparts.

Samsung is one of the few players that has already used under-screen cameras, for example in the Galaxy Z Fold series. Now it has been discovered that Samsung has applied for a patent for a solution that offers face unlocking in 3D through two separate sensors under the screen.

One camera is at the top and the other at the bottom. By placing the sensors far apart, more of the user’s face can be captured and with depth, which improves security and, for example, prevents someone from just holding up a picture.

The patent also mentions that the face unlock can change the amount of light from the screen, which in turn changes the size of the user’s pupil – another way to detect cheating through photographs. Apple is the only manufacturer that has consistently offered secure face unlock in phones since 2017.

Several Android manufacturers have temporarily created their own secure equivalents, such as Google and LG. The goal for Apple in the long term should be to put all the front sensors under the screen, but maybe Samsung will be the first to offer secure face unlock without obscuring parts of the panel.

However, a patent application does not necessarily mean that the technology will actually be released in a smartphone, but the chance is there.