OnePlus 6T Teardown Reveals Camera Lens in Optical In-Display Fingerprint Sensor

OnePlus 6T is the Chinese phone maker’s first smartphone with an in-display fingerprint sensor, a concept popularised this year. This relatively new biometric technology comes at a time when the market demand is leaning towards all screen designs with minimal bezels. Now, Zack from JerryRigEverything has performed a teardown of the OnePlus 6T to show viewers the internal components of the flagship smartphone. The highlight of the teardown shows off the optical in-display fingerprint sensor of the OnePlus 6T, which is actually a small camera sensor designed to light up during operation.

In the teardown, Zack starts off by removing the back panel and dismantling the battery unit. He then removes the black plastic panel (with NFC chip) protecting the motherboard underneath. The dual rear camera module is removed from the motherboard to show the presence of OIS on the primary sensor, and none on the secondary unit.

He then removes the protective plastic case over the fingerprint sensor. Placed north of the charging port is the optical in-display fingerprint sensor. He takes out the fingerprint sensor which consists of a camera lens and a sensor. It works by taking a close-up photo of your unique fingerprint and using the illuminators on the display to record it for future unlocking. He says that this technology could lead to selfie cameras under the display in the near future, successfully getting rid of the display notch.

Taking out the sensor reveals a translucent hole. He then turns on the handset without the fingerprint sensor to show that the screen still works but does not shine backwards. “The LEDs in the screen only shine in one direction – outwards,” says Zack. Once that is done, he puts back all of the components to make the in-display fingerprint sensor work again.

Late last month, the OnePlus 6T was put through the standard durability test on the JerryRigEverything YouTube channel. The test noted that the in-display fingerprint sensor was unaffected by scratches and worked just fine.