OnePlus 6T will have a fingerprint sensor in the screen, confirms OnePlus

The next OnePlus 6T will have a fingerprint reader on screen, confirmed the company to CNET. This will make it not only the first OnePlus phone equipped with technology, but also the first phone to have it widely available in the United States.

Currently, this feature is available on some Vivo phones (Vivo V11, X20 Plus UD, X21 and Nex) and the Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS. OnePlus is branding its Screen-On-Display (FOD) feature as an unlock screen, streamlining phone design, and saving users the extra step of taking their phone to unlock their screens.

"We unblock our phones several times a day and Screen Unlock reduces the number of steps required to carry out the action," said OnePlus in an email to CNET. "By adding this feature to other display unlocking options such as face unlocking, users will have the ability to unlock the screen in the most efficient way for them."

OnePlus 6T camera image leaks initially appeared to indicate that the phone would have the built-in fingerprint sensor on the screen. In addition to the official confirmation of the functionality, OnePlus stated that it initially intended to introduce the technology on the OnePlus 5T. However, because "the technology was not mature enough to [OnePlus’] standards for a fast and fluid user experience, "it was delayed until the OnePlus 6T.

Although it is known as "fingerprint readers in the screen", the technology is actually integrated with screens. When you touch the designated area of ​​the screen with your fingers, a network of sensors will turn on to turn on your finger. Your fingerprint is then read by an optical image sensor and an AI processor. If the print matches, the screen unlocks.

Because of this feature, the design of the OnePlus 6T is slightly modified compared to its OnePlus 6 predecessor. The 6T is slightly thicker by 0.45mm, the internal hardware had to be rearranged, and now that the back of the phone does not have a sensor, it looks more unibody, according to OnePlus.

With Vivo, Huawei and OnePlus, more and more telephone companies are expected to embark on this move. A report published in April by financial services company IHS Markit estimated that by 2019, 100 million phones would carry this technology.

Besides the fingerprint reader, we also know that the OnePlus 6T will be Available on T-Mobile, which is the first agreement with the American company. Other rumors, however, speculate that the phone will also include triple-back cameras and a price of 550 US dollars. The company is expected to launch the phone sometime in October. It will not take long to find out more. From here on, at least having a fingerprint sensor in display is one thing we can check on our OnePlus 6T wish list.

Editor's note: This part was originally published on September 10, 2018 at 3:00 PM PST and has been updated.

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