The 2024 Surge in Ultrasonic Fingerprint Unlocking on Android Flagships: A Deep Dive into Price, Technology, and Market Competition

The 2024 Surge in Ultrasonic Fingerprint Unlocking on Android Flagships: A Deep Dive into Price, Technology, and Market CompetitionHave you noticed the significant presence of ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking technology in the wave of new Android phones released in late 2024? Flagships like the vivo X200 Pro, Xiaomi 15/Pro, Honor Magic7/Pro, OnePlus 13, iQOO 13, and Realme GT7 Pro, along with mid-range models such as Redmi K80/Pro, iQOO Neo10 series, and Honor 300 Ultra, now feature this technology. This contrasts sharply with previous years, where ultrasonic fingerprint sensors were limited to a few high-end devices

The 2024 Surge in Ultrasonic Fingerprint Unlocking on Android Flagships: A Deep Dive into Price, Technology, and Market Competition

Have you noticed the significant presence of ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking technology in the wave of new Android phones released in late 2024? Flagships like the vivo X200 Pro, Xiaomi 15/Pro, Honor Magic7/Pro, OnePlus 13, iQOO 13, and Realme GT7 Pro, along with mid-range models such as Redmi K80/Pro, iQOO Neo10 series, and Honor 300 Ultra, now feature this technology. This contrasts sharply with previous years, where ultrasonic fingerprint sensors were limited to a few high-end devices. It seems to have become a key competitive feature for smartphone manufacturers. But why has this relatively expensive technology seen such widespread adoption this year? This article delves into the reasons.

I. In-Display Fingerprint Unlocking Technologies: A Comparison of Short-Focus, Ultra-Thin Optical, and Ultrasonic

Since the rise of full-screen smartphones, in-display fingerprint unlocking has become the norm, primarily categorized into short-focus, ultra-thin optical, and ultrasonic technologies.

Short-focus fingerprint unlocking, with its sensor located at the very bottom of the screen, requires users to adjust their grip or awkwardly bend their thumb, resulting in a poor user experience. However, its low cost makes it a crucial tool for manufacturers aiming to control expenses, preventing its complete demise; some new flagships still use it.

Ultra-thin optical fingerprint unlocking uses light reflection and refraction to gather fingerprint information. The sensor is located higher on the screen, allowing for easier thumb placement and generally faster, more accurate unlocking. However, it's susceptible to ambient light interference and emits a potentially blinding light in low-light conditions. Industry insiders suggest that ultra-thin optical technology is nearing the end of its life cycle, leaving short-focus and ultrasonic as the dominant technologies.

Ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking emits ultrasonic waves into the finger, creating a 3D fingerprint image based on how the waves are absorbed, transmitted, and reflected by the fingerprint's ridges and valleys. This technology boasts advantages including water resistance, high recognition rates, strong penetration, enhanced security, live detection capabilities, and the ability to contribute to thinner phone designs. Currently, the market primarily uses single-point ultrasonic solutions, which have a smaller sensing area and lower sensitivity than the wider area solutions.

II. The High Cost Challenge of Ultrasonic Fingerprint Technology

While some manufacturers, like vivo with its 2018 X20 Plus UD, adopted ultrasonic fingerprint technology early on, its widespread adoption was slow. This is largely due to its high cost. Industry sources suggest that ultrasonic fingerprint technology costs four times more than ultra-thin optical and ten times more than short-focus solutions.

Qualcomm, as an early monopolist of ultrasonic fingerprint technology, enjoyed significant pricing power, further exacerbating the cost disadvantage. From the introduction of Snapdragon Sense ID 3D fingerprint technology in 2015 to its widespread adoption in 2024, the slow uptake is directly linked to its high cost.

III. The Rise of Domestic Alternatives: Goodix's Breakthrough

The mass adoption of ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking in 2024 is largely thanks to the emergence of domestic Chinese manufacturers, particularly Goodix Technology's breakthrough in this field. Most new phones featuring ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking this year utilize Goodix's solutions, with only the Realme GT7 Pro employing Qualcomm's technology.

Goodix's solutions have gained popularity due to their superior signal-to-noise ratio, strong signal penetration, support for unlocking with oily or wet fingers, enhanced biometric security, slim design, and flexible placement options. Importantly, Goodix uses its own CMOS sensor architecture and wafer-level acoustic layer processing technology, possessing independent intellectual property rights and employing silicon-based modules. This results in smaller size and lower power consumption compared to competitors with similar performance.

Although Goodix currently offers primarily single-point ultrasonic solutions, lacking the wider sensing area and sensitivity of Qualcomm's solutions, the user experience still surpasses short-focus and ultra-thin optical alternatives. Furthermore, its price is reportedly about one-third that of Qualcomm's 3D wide-area ultrasonic fingerprint technology. This price advantage, combined with a decent user experience, makes Goodix's solutions the preferred choice for many manufacturers.

IV. Future Outlook for Ultrasonic Fingerprint Technology: Challenges and Opportunities

While Goodix's domestically produced ultrasonic fingerprint solutions have reduced costs and driven wider adoption, challenges remain before it becomes a universal standard. Cost remains a significant barrier, even with the lower price of domestic alternatives; its still considerably more expensive than short-focus solutions.

Future development of ultrasonic fingerprint technology will likely focus on two areas: breaking the limitations of single-point solutions to achieve wider area coverage and further reducing costs to make it accessible to a broader range of smartphones. The surge in popularity of ultrasonic fingerprint technology has begun, and we can look forward to even more advanced and widespread adoption in the future.