OnePlus, Oppo and Realme may be planning this 'big change' for its flagship smartphones

Smartphone brands under the BBK Electronics umbrella, including OnePlus, Oppo and Realme, are planning to introduce ultrasonic fingerprint sensors for their flagship models. In a post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, a tipster named Digital Chat Station claimed that these smartphone makers are expected to use the newer technology of biometric authentication for their flagship offerings.

What are ultrasonic biometric fingerprint sensors and how is it different

Smartphone makers started offering in-display fingerprint authentication on multiple models for a few years now. For this system, phone brands use two types of fingerprint sensors -- ultrasonic and optical sensors. The ultrasonic sensors are usually found on premium flagship smartphones. When a finger is pressed against an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, it creates a 3D map of the fingerprint by using ultrasonic sound waves beneath the screen. This technology offers more security and is less susceptible to spoofing. Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors are also water resistant and smudges with high detection accuracy. However, these scanners are expensive to manufacture and the process is also complex compared to optical fingerprint scanners. Meanwhile, optical fingerprint scanners are less expensive and secure and use light to capture 2D images of the fingerprint.

Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors on OnePlus, Oppo and Realme phones

As per the Weibo post, OnePlus, Oppo and Realme are working on an ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint scanner for their devices. If things go well, the technology is expected to replace the optical fingerprint scanner on their flagship devices in the coming days. Apart from this, the tipster didn’t reveal any additional details. Currently, the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, iQ00 12 Pro, Meizu 21/21 Pro, and other phones use an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor uses this technology. Earlier reports suggested that the upcoming Xiaomi 15 series which may come powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset is also expected to come equipped with Goodix’s single-point ultrasonic fingerprint scanner technology.