Qualcomm announces the 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2 ultrasonic fingerprint reader

When Corning unveiled the Gorilla Glass Victus around July last year, 2020, speculation was rife that the technology would first appear on the Galaxy Note 20. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20, with the new screen safety technology, has indeed been introduced. With the Galaxy S21, the same situation is about to play out. Qualcomm has formally revealed the latest iteration of its 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2 ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor.

The new technology looks to build in many ways on the original model. It also provides the sensor with a greater surface area and quicker processing, enabling the sensor to be deployed to unlock phones much faster.

According to Qualcomm, compared to the 4mm x 9mm surface area of the first generation model, the latest 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2 measures 8mm x 8mm. This means that up to 77 percent more surface space is obtained by users. When used, the wider surface area ensures that it will be easier to position your finger on the sensor accurately. It also enables the sensor for each scan to gather further data. Qualcomm promises that scanning a fingerprint to unlock a phone would go 50 percent faster with the 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2 as the bigger sensor is coupled with faster processing.

The first-generation ultrasonic sensor from Qualcomm, branded as the 3D Sonic Sensor, debuted in 2018 in the Galaxy S10 flagship smartphone lineup. Almost all other in-display readers used an optical scanner at the time, which was claimed to be slower and less accurate than the modern ultrasonic one

However, the sensor experienced many problems, including a particularly problematic security flaw that allowed the readers to unlock phones when used with certain screen protectors with almost any fingerprint. Samsung will address this problem later via a software update.

Qualcomm later unveiled the 3D Sonic Max in 2019, which happens to be only a much larger version of the 20mm x 30mm surface area first-gen sensor.

Qualcomm announced that "early 2021" should be available for the first phones to use the latest 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2. The company left out any clear release information, but there are speculations that it will be released on the Galaxy S21, which is scheduled to launch on January 14,2021.