Smartphone Makers Should Engineer Larger Screen Sizes Via Biometrics, Says Analyst

Following the “recent debacle with foldable screens,” full-display smartphones will initially be best realized through better biometrics, said ABI Research Tuesday. Vendors are either increasing screen-to-body size ratios or offering a foldable or flexible screen to enable full-display phones, said analyst Stephanie Tomsett, but they also can get there by reducing the need for sensors, buttons and other features on the front screen. Camera-based recognition will be a dominant smartphone biometric technology, reaching 487 million shipments in 2023, followed by in-display fingerprint scanners with nearly 228 shipments in the same time frame, said Tomsett. In-display fingerprint scanners remove the need for an additional sensor or button on the front of the device, putting the technology behind the screen, and camera notches and punch holes, such as those in Samsung Infinity displays, also allow roomier screens. LG’s Crystal Sound OLED screen uses the display as a speaker, eliminating the need to house speakers on the front, and ultrasound gesture control technologies replace the need for additional front sensors, she said. On possible future technologies, Apple has a patent for an iPhone that allows the screen to be a speaker, Samsung has a patent for a smartphone that allows the screen to be a camera and LG has a smartphone patent outlining a full-screen, all-display device, said the analyst. With any number of options, including foldable displays, “there is some debate as to how these options can be used in tandem, and whether some will be become obsolete due to their lack of utility, excessive added costs, or delivery of poor user experiences." Bezels, she said, help protect for the sides of a phone and accidental interaction with the side of the screen; eliminating them would require a different fix to prevent "unwanted interactions."