Android Phones Could Adopt Under-Display 3D Face ID Before Apple

Apple has been offering 3D facial recognition technology—dubbed Face ID—on iPhones for several years. Meanwhile, most Android smartphones, including those from major brands like Samsung, still lack this technology. They usually prefer to rely on fingerprint sensors and 2D facial recognition functionality for biometrics. However, Android phone makers, especially those from China, could beat Apple when it comes to offering under-display 3D facial recognition technology on their devices.

Chinese brands reportedly testing under-display facial recognition tech

According to reliable tipster Digital Chat Station, multiple Chinese phone makers have started internally testing devices with under-display 3D facial recognition technology. While the source hasn’t named the company or product names, their post hinted at increasing interest in incorporating 3D face unlock solutions directly under the screen of the phones.

This could allow Chinese Android phone makers to provide secure unlock functionality without any visible cutouts on the display of their devices. The post indicates that we may soon see the first crop of Android phones with the “invisible” selfie cameras and other sensors for advanced biometric authentication.

It’s worth mentioning that the comments section of the post by DCS suggests that some people are skeptical about the adoption of these technologies. Many users mentioned in the comments that they could increase the cost of smartphones.

Only a few Android phones currently have these technologies

While iPhones have offered 3D face recognition for several years, only a few Android devices offer it. Honor’s recent flagship Magic 7 Pro (review) offers 3D face unlock, similar to Apple’s Face ID tech. However, the phone has a pill-shaped cutout at the top of the display housing a 50MP selfie camera and a 3D depth shooter. Some handsets, like ZTE’s nubia Z70S Ultra, feature an under-display selfie camera but don’t feature 3D face scanning.

But if the leaked information is correct, we can expect brands like Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, and OnePlus to launch devices with under-display 3D face recognition and selfie cameras soon. As for Apple, it is reportedly trying out under-display camera technology, but it may use it for Face ID rather than selfies. So, the iPhones will have a cutout at least for the selfie camera for the foreseeable future.