+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

This new smartphone has a fingerprint scanner that sounds a lot better than Apple's - it works even when your hands are wet

Jan 6, 2016, 02:03 IST

Qualcomm CEO Steven Mollenkopf presents at CES 2016.Matt Weinberger/Business Insider

Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm, announced at CES 2016 today that his company has partnered with Chinese tech company Letv for the forthcoming Le Max Pro smartphone.

Advertisement

First off, the Le Max Pro will be the first phone to use the company's high-powered Snapdragon 820 chip - a chip that's arguably comparable in power to that of the Apple iPad Pro tablet.

The really cool part, though, comes in the form of the Le Max Pro's Qualcomm-powered Snapdragon Sense fingerprint scanner.

"This is the first ultrasonic fingerprint sensor," Mollenkopf says.

While Mollenkopf acknowledges that smartphones have had fingerprint scanners for a while - most famously, the Touch ID system in recent-model Apple iPhones and iPads - he says that this one solves a bunch of problems.

Advertisement

First and foremost, the fact that the Qualcomm touch sensor is ultrasonic means that you can use it even if your finger is wet, or even if it's swiping across the fingerprint sensor. That solves a big annoyance with current solutions.

Second, making it ultrasonic means that the fingerprint sensor can be anywhere on future devices. It doesn't even have to be on the surface of the phone: In the case of the Letv Le Max Pro, it's "protected by metal."

So while Android phones historically have a spotty track record with fingerprint sensors, it seems that Qualcomm has a strong technology in place for making them much better going forward.

NOW WATCH: The Samsung Galaxy S5 Has Serious Fingerprint Sensor Problems

Please enable Javascript to watch this video
You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article