Samsung’s Galaxy S phones offer the latest and greatest features to consumers at an exorbitant price. OnePlus, on the other hand, has built its business by offering similar features at 40-50% lower prices compared to other premium Android handsets. That’s how the four-year-old startup has been able to surpass $1.4 billion in revenue. A new report suggests that the upcoming OnePlus 6 would feature an advanced Face Unlock technology to challenge Samsung’s Galaxy S9.
Intelligent Scan vs the advanced Face Unlock
Samsung is set to unveil the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus on February 25th in Barcelona. Though the upcoming flagship would retain the design of its predecessor, recent reports suggest that it would feature a new Intelligent Scan technology to take on Apple’s Face ID. Unlike Face ID, the Intelligent Scan will use both the facial recognition technology and the iris scanner simultaneously to unlock the device and authenticate payments.
The Galaxy S9’s Intelligent Scan is said to be far more secure than the face recognition feature on the Galaxy S8, which could easily be fooled with a photo of the phone’s owner. With Intelligent Scan, the iris scanner could take priority when you are in low-light conditions and the face detection would play a superior role when you are not directly looking at the iris scanner. It would combine data from both the sensors to recognize the user.
A “reliable” source told Android Marvel that the OnePlus 6 would feature an advanced Face Unlock feature to challenge the Galaxy S9’s Intelligent Scan. The feature will even be good enough to take on Apple’s Face ID technology. The publication added that OnePlus 6 would use a 3D infrared module for its facial recognition technology. However, it wouldn’t be housed in an iPhone X-like notch. It will be positioned in the top bezel of the device.
OnePlus already offers a Face Unlock feature on the OnePlus 5T. It simply uses the camera and the software to recognize users. The Chinese company is bringing Face Unlock to its older phones as well via a software update. However, Face Unlock in its existing form is not secure enough to authenticate financial transactions. OnePlus says the feature is more about convenience than security at this point.
That’s why OnePlus allows users to authenticate payments via the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. The company is working on the advanced Face Unlock that would be secure enough to authenticate financial transactions and unlock secure apps.
Will OnePlus 6 feature an optical fingerprint scanner?
There have been speculations that the OnePlus 6 could feature an in-display fingerprint sensor. Vivo has officially announced its first smartphone with an optical fingerprint sensor. Vivo uses Synaptics’ ClearID FS9500 in-display fingerprint sensors to allow users to unlock the device by placing their finger on the screen. Since OnePlus and Vivo are owned by the same company BBK Electronics, the feature could be extended to OnePlus 6 as well. BBK brands tend to borrow each other’s design language and features.
OnePlus 6 to launch in June
Earlier this month, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed that the company would launch the OnePlus 6 towards the end of the second quarter. It means the device will be unveiled in June, about a year after the OnePlus 5 was announced (June 20, 2017). OnePlus’s upcoming flagship will be powered by the same Snapdragon 845 chipset that would run the Galaxy S9, confirmed Lau. However, the OnePlus 6 could have a higher 8GB RAM compared to the Galaxy S9’s 4GB and S9 Plus’s 6GB RAM.
The OnePlus 6 is expected to have a bezel-less OLED display with a screen-to-body ratio higher than the OnePlus 5T’s 80.5%. We can expect it to feature an improved dual camera and a 3.5mm headphone jack. OnePlus is currently in talks with wireless carriers in the US to sell its devices through carrier stores. The company has already partnered with a few carriers in European markets. Recently, another Chinese vendor Huawei failed to strike a deal with AT&T to sell its premium Mate 10 Pro handsets.
