Samsung's budget Galaxy Grand Prime Plus (2018) may have an Iris Scanner

The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Plus 2018 may be Samsung's first budget smartphone with an iris scanner like the Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8, and Galaxy S9.

By  Mishaal Rahman Jul 16, 2018

Biometric authentication has taken on new forms in modern smartphones thanks to advancements in imaging and display technology. We now have smartphones capable of precise facial recognition like the Xiaomi Mi 8 and Apple iPhone X. We are also getting smartphones with in-display fingerprint sensors like the Vivo NEX and Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS. Meanwhile, Samsung is reportedly dropping their iris recognition technology in favor of a 3D facial recognition sensor and an in-display fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S10. But even if the Samsung Galaxy S10 marks the company's departure from iris scanners on their flagship phones, it's possible that they may include the feature on one or more of their budget Galaxy offerings this year—possibly a 2018 refresh of the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Plus.

Native Support for Iris Scanners is finally coming to Android

Android is finally getting native support for Iris scanners, likely shipping in Android P. A new HAL and Framework allows for the lock screen to be dismissed, and also for third-party apps to utilize an Iris scanner.

By  Mishaal Rahman Mar 1, 2018

Biometric authentication may not be as secure as pins or passwords, but its convenience is a big selling point for many consumers. The extremely quick fingerprint scanner on the OnePlus flagships has been praised almost universally, but lately companies have been gravitating towards facial recognition technology as an alternative. For instance, there's the OnePlus 5T and the Honor 7X with their respective takes on a Face Unlock feature. Samsung phones also have facial recognition for unlocking their devices, but the biometric authentication technology the company is most proud of is its iris scanner. Now, it appears that iris scanners may be coming to more Android phones in the future, as official support for it is being added to Android.