Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi has announced that it has successfully implemented in-display fingerprint technology on LCD panels. The technology was so far limited only to OLED display panels due to certain technical limitations with LCD screens. The company’s General Manager Lu Weibing officially confirmed today that LCD in-display fingerprint readers were ready for mass production. In an announcement made on Chinese microblogging site Weibo, he shared a video showing the in-display technology working on a Redmi Note 8 Pro prototype device with an LCD panel.
How In-Display Fingerprint Scanners on LCD Screens Work?
The current generation LCD display devices didn’t come with in-display fingerprint technology since LCD panels don’t allow light to pass through the display, preventing such scanners from working. The Redmi R&D team has, however, managed to overcome this limitation of LCD screens with use of “infrared high-transmittance film material” according to Weibing.
Weibing explained that this new high-transmittance film material now greatly "improves the transmittance of infrared light that could not pass through the screen earlier." The infrared transmitter at the bottom of the screen now emits infrared light. After this, the fingerprint is reflected, it penetrates and shines on the fingerprint sensor to complete the verification process, and thus allowing successful implementation of the technology.
This breakthrough means the arrival of cheaper LCD phones with in-display fingerprint technology, something which helps Chinese companies like Redmi as they target entry level smartphone market.
Redmi K30 Pro Likely to Come With LCD Screen and In-Display Scanner
The timing of the announcement coincides with the launch of Redmi Note series in India. Xiaomi has announced the Redmi Note 9 and Redmi Note 9 Pro will be unveiled on March 12. It is speculated that Redmi might just bring this new technology in its Note series.
Also expected to feature this new technology is the global version of the Redmi K30 Pro. The current K30 Pro model available in China comes with LCD display and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. It is expected to launch globally at the end of this month and we might possibly see the first LCD display fingerprint scanner featured in this phone.
As usual, these are mere speculations at the moment, and there hasn’t been any official confirmation from Redmi as to when we will actually see LCD phones with in-display fingerprint technology.
