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The Power of Your Fingerprint to Change the World of Smartphones
The touchscreen versus physical keyboard. The opening of app stores to 3rd party developers. Outfitting smartphones with hi-res cameras.
For those who’ve been tracking mobile technology through the years, advancements such as the above have proven huge to the ongoing development of smartphones. Coming off IFA, an exciting new smartphone feature that has the same sort of potential is fingerprint. If you’ve been keeping tabs on the news, you’ll know that the industry is abuzz over potential applications of smartphone fingerprint technology from IT security to e-commerce to much more.
Although a few smartphones with fingerprint are currently available, HUAWEI’s new Ascend Mate7 is the latest and potentially the greatest. Equipped with the industry’s most advanced fingerprint reader, the Mate7 provided terrific reflection grounds for this post on the power of fingerprint to change the world of smartphones.
- “One-touch” fingerprint technology does away with patterns and passwords
Most people unlock their phones some 150 times a day by either drawing a pattern or inputting a password. When considering how fingerprint could dramatically do away with these processes, the importance of “one-touch” like that featured in the Mate7 cannot be overestimated. There are fingerprint readers out there which require an additional tap, swipe, or finger scan before your fingerprint is recognized; however, if a fingerprint reader doesn’t offer better efficiency than current unlock options, users won’t turn to it.
With the Mate7, the phone can be repeatedly unlocked in less than a second with a simple touch – even when your fingers are wet or damp. This is thanks to a highly precise RF sensor integrated in the scanner so that the phone immediately wakes up as soon as your finger is on the pad. Also, the Mate7 requires you to record your fingerprint in multiple angles so you can unlock the phone with any part of your finger, true 360-degree fingerprint readability.
- Fingerprint technology changes the game when it comes to smart device security
Personal IT security is a hot topic these days, and the search for reliable solutions even hotter. With a precise fingerprint reader that offers tantamount security, the industry may have just found a solution when it comes to device security in the Mate7.
The Mate7’s HUAWEI Kirin 925 processor utilizes technology from ARM TrustZone which houses the fingerprint service, storage, and transmitter of the sensor in an independent chip. Entirely separate from the Android system, fingerprint information contained on this chip cannot be accessed externally which means third-party app developers have zero access to it, and it cannot be stored on any server or backed-up into Cloud storage.
On a final note, the reader supports up to five sets of different fingerprint records, which can be allocated to normal and guest modes, so you can lend your phone to family and friends without having to worry about them accessing anything personal, like private folders, apps or payment information.
- Fingerprint technology is about much more than unlocking your smartphone
While the immediate application of fingerprint technology in unlocking your smartphone is clear, fingerprint technology, as it continues to evolve, will dramatically alter the smartphone experience in other ways.
Playing around with the Mate7, you can snap photos by tapping the fingerprint reader. On large-screen phones like the 6-inch Mate7, this is extremely convenient for taking photos and selfies with one hand. It also helps that the Mate7’s fingerprint reader is strategically positioned on the back of the smartphone offering ease of access as well as preserving the design integrity of the front of the smartphone.
Another exciting area is the potential for fingerprint to be integrated into online payment and e-commerce platforms. Can you imagine securely and efficiently paying for online merchandise with the simple touch of your finger? The HUAWEI folks have already begun implementing online payment with the Mate7 in China – it will be fascinating to see how this expands to the world.
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