We saw a lot of crazy tech at this year's CES, and while I wasn't personally in Vegas to check out everything first-hand, one of the products that caught my attention the most was the Vivo X20 Plus – or, as it's more commonly known, the first phone with a fingerprint sensor underneath its display.
The Vivo X20 Plus made its way through China's TENAA earlier this month, and just a couple days later, the phone is now ready for prime-time. Although pricing details have yet to be announced, pre-orders will officially open in China at some point today, January 24.
Vivo's main selling point with the X20 Plus is definitely the fingerprint sensor tech, but the rest of the phone isn't a slouch by any means. The screen is a 6.43-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 and 18:9 aspect ratio, two 12MP cameras can be found on the back, the Snapdragon 635 is powering the phone, and a 3,905 mAh battery should offer more than enough stamina.
If the Vivo X20 Plus is the future of biometric security, sign me up.
It's unclear if/when the Vivo X20 Plus will make its way out of Chinese markets, but that hasn't stopped me from desperately wanting to get my hands on the thing. The rear-mounted fingerprint sensor on my Pixel 2 works just fine, but the little nerd in me can't help but jump for joy at the fact that this technology is actually available in a phone that people can buy.
The X20 Plus likely won't ever come to the U.S., and while that is a bummer, it's only a matter of time before more OEMs follow suit. Vivo might be the first company to ship a phone with a fingerprint sensor underneath the display, but it won't be the last.
It still remains to be seen if this new fingerprint sensor tech offers any real consumer benefits over what we've had on our phones for years at this point, but even if it functionally works just the same, that's perfectly fine by me. If I can place my finger on a screen, have it properly register the biometrics, and unlock my phone, I'll be more than happy.
Now that my little rant is over, what are your thoughts on phones with in-display fingerprint sensors?
Vivo's in-display fingerprint sensor shows the future of smartphone biometrics
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