It is predicted that a home button will disappear from Smartphones.
CrucialTec, which is a business that specializes in fingerprint recognition solutions, made an announcement on the 30th that it has recently started supplying modules that can recognize touch and fingerprints on the back of tempered glass to Smartphone manufacturers.
Until now, fingerprint recognition module stuck out in a form of a circle or a square because it was possible to recognize fingerprints when a finger actually touched a module. This is why a home button physically remained on a Smartphone.
However CrucialTec made fingerprint recognition possible even on the back of tempered glass by developing sensing technologies. CrucialTec made a groove on the bottom and the back of tempered glass and installed a sensor in there. A reason why it hid a button on the back of a Smartphone is because it wants to improve design and functions of Smartphones.
“Smooth and a feeling of uniformity are given as tempered glass is exposed in all surfaces and it is also more advantageous in engrafting waterproof and dustproof functions since a button that sticks out is disappeared.” said a representative for CrucialTec.
CrucialTec became the first company in the world to develop such technologies in 2014 and has been preparing to commercialize them. Since it has started supplying parts recently, people can expect to see Smartphones that are actually equipped with CrucialTec’s parts soon.
A technology that hides a home button the back of glass also came out from LG Innotec in April of this year. LG Innotec also made a shallow groove of 0.3mm depth on the back of glass and installed a sensor in there.
LG Innotec used ultra-fine processing technology and combined method of construction and explained that areas that can recognize fingerprints can be marked with variety of patterns.
There is also a report that Apple will replace its home button with a touch module. Business Insider recently quoted a report from Cowen and Company, which is an investment bank, and announced that Apple will be using a force-touch button for its new iPhone that is coming out in this fall. This method gives one a feeling that he or she is actually pressing a button through touch and vibration instead of a home button.
It is predicted that an entire boundary of a home button will disappear in the future because a technology that can recognize fingerprints and touch from an entire screen of a Smartphone is being developed.
“We are currently preparing products that can recognize fingerprints from an entire display instead of pressing a separate key or a home button and our goal is to commercialize them within 2 years.” said CEO An Keon-joon of CrucialTec.
Staff Reporter Yun, Keonil | benyun@etnews.com