While the latest iPhone gave up it's front facing Touch ID sensor for the sake of reduced bezel space last year in the iPhone X, it looks like this year we will see phones that don't have to give anything up. As The Verge reports, Chinese company Vivo is releasing the first phone to integrate Synaptics Clear ID system which allows for fingerprint data to be captured through the display.
While I've always thought that Google's Nexus and Pixel backword facing capacitive fingerprint scanner worked great from an ergonomic standpoint, it seems likely that the industry will move towards this technology to simplify the exterior of the device.
I suppose the real question at this point is how long before Apple integrates this technology? They made a big push with the face unlock stuff, but it's reception has seemed to be a bit mixed. It seems likely that the next iPhone could potentially have both methods available for biometric based access to the device.
Also, how long before we can have the forward facing camera look through the display? This would allow for a perfectly bezel-free device ( no "notch" ), but seems to it would be MUCH more difficult. Let me know what you think!
