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This obscure Android handset might steal the iPhone 8’s signature feature

Published Jun 22nd, 2017 4:17PM EDT
iPhone 8 Fingerprint Sensor Display
Image: Janitors

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Our first peek at the iPhone 8 will come in mid-September at the earliest, but we might see one of its signature features in action as soon as next week — and on an Android device. Thank goodness Steve isn’t here any more.,

The iPhone 8 will bring over a bunch of features that were not seen on any previous iPhone. The fingerprint sensor may be the most daring one, as Apple plans to bury the Touch ID sensor inside the display’s many layers. It’s also a very challenging technology that may lead to launch delays, many reports claimed.

Until recently, we thought that Apple will be the first to bring this technology to market. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 was also a possibility, in which case Samsung would have been first to market with this particular innovation. But Samsung ran into technical issues of its own, which convinced it to place the sensor on the back of the handset, just as it did with the Galaxy S8 earlier this year.

Chinese smartphone vendor Vivo, on the other hand, seems to have achieved what others couldn’t. A video last week showed what appeared to be a phone with a fingerprint sensor embedded in the screen. It appears that device actually exists, and Vivo may launch it next week in China.

The company posted on Twitter a teaser message for its MWC 2017 Shanghai event, with the Congress set to kick off on June 28th.

Vivo wants to “unlock the future,” and the teaser image shows what appears to be a display pierced by a shape similar to a fingerprint. That metaphor can only mean one thing, that an upcoming Vivo handset will have a fingerprint sensor integrated into the display. That would make Vivo the first smartphone maker in the world to showcase such a handset.

It’s likely that other smartphone makers will come up with similar solutions in the future, as the technology matures.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.