A handy security feature from the OnePlus 5T is coming over to the OnePlus 5, the company's cofounder, Carl Pei, confirmed on Twitter before Christmas.
OnePlus 5 Users Are Getting Face Unlock
Pei said that due to "popular demand" OnePlus is working to bring the Face Unlock feature to the OnePlus 5T predecessor. Face Unlock, one of the phone's many coveted features, is by no means as sophisticated as Apple's fancy Face ID recognition technology — but it works extremely fast and is secure. Well, most of the time.
While it can be easily tricked by flashing the phone at the owner's face for a mere second, OnePlus doesn't use the feature for important transactions, such as payments. It's exclusively for unlocking the phone only, and users aren't even forced to use it — they can just opt to activate the phone via its built-in fingerprint sensor for much more sophisticated security.
Pei didn't exactly specify when the feature will roll out to OnePlus 5 users, but it's safe to assume it won't be coming at least until next year. Yes, OnePlus could certainly surprise users by enabling it just before the new year starts, but that's highly unlikely.
Facial Recognition Or Fingerprint Scanning?
Biometric security has become a hot-button topic among smartphone users recently, which was largely because of Apple's decision to throw away Touch ID entirely and depend instead on Face ID on the iPhone X for unlocking the device and performing other transactions. All signs point to Apple adapting the technology for all its phones moving forward, meaning the death of Touch ID seems imminent.
But while Apple seems hell-bent on getting rid of fingerprint scanning technology, other companies are instead working to perfect it. Vivo is reportedly about to unveil its in-display fingerprint sensor soon, making it the first manufacturer to come out with that kind of technology, in which a portion of the screen itself acts as the fingerprint sensor. That way, they don't take up any bezel space, allowing for smaller and better-designed phones overall.
Both Samsung and Apple were expected to be the first to debut that kind of technology, but it seems Vivo is bound to cross the finish line first when it announces the phone in question. Synaptics is responsible for the said in-display fingerprint technology, and it's safe to assume for it to show up on other phones shortly after Vivo's phone is released.
What do you think? Should companies move toward facial recognition or perfect fingerprint scanning technology? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
