Vivo X20 Plus could be the first smartphone to launch with an in-display fingerprint sensor. The smartphone has recently received 3C certification in China, and the listing confirms ‘vivo x20 Plus UD’ monikor suggesting the use of an under-display fingerprint scanner.
At this moment, it is anybody’s wild guess that UD would mean under display, but nothing is confirmed and the branding could be referring to something different altogether. However, it is well known that Vivo will be the first manufacturer to launch a smartphone with fingerprint sensor embedded under the display.
The Chinese smartphone maker showed off a prototype device with under display fingerprint sensor at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Shanghai last year. The technology relied on Qualcomm’s own under-screen fingerprint sensing technology that uses piezoelectric to send ultrasonic waves through the display panel to read fingerprints.
The feature was demonstrated on a modified Vivo XPlay 6 smartphone, and Qualcomm claimed it will work even with wet fingers. However, it was seen to be a little laggy at the demonstration in comparison with existing fingerprint scanning technology. Last month, Synaptics also announced Clear ID FS9500, its in-display fingerprint sensor that has now entered mass production which can also work with an OLED display.
Vivo confirmed that it will use Synaptics’ fingerprint sensors on its future devices but it is not clear whether X20 Plus UD uses a sensor from Qualcomm or Synaptics. According to Phoneradar, the Vivo X20 Plus UD will be officially announced at CES 2018 next week. The smartphone is expected to sport the same metal unibody design and 18:9 AMOLED display like existing X20 and X20 Plus variants.
It could be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset coupled with Adreno 512 GPU and option for either 4GB or 6GB RAM. The Vivo X20 Plus UD is likely to sport a dual rear camera setup with a combination of 24-megapixel + 5-megapixel sensor and 24-megapixel front selfie camera. It should launch with Android 7.1.1 Nougat overlayed with FunTouchOS 3.2 and should go on sale first in Vivo’s home market.