Synaptics

When rumors of the Galaxy S8’s nearly all-screen design surfaced, speculation about the new home of the fingerprint sensor was similarly raised. Either it would be removed completely, which would be a regression of more than two years of progress, relocated to the back ala LG, or some other new technology. That last one almost seemed most likely, drumming up hype about the smartphone. Alas, the Galaxy S8 is, instead, left with an oddly-placed rear sensor, because that much hyped on-screen fingerprint scanning technology wouldn’t make it in time.

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We have been hearing a lot of rumors about the coming Galaxy S8 smartphone and one of the more interesting and disturbing of them is that the smartphone will ditch the physical home button and have a display with no bezel. That home button was where the fingerprint sensor was located in previous Galaxy smartphones leaving many wondering how Samsung would pull that off. Synaptics has just announced a slick new FS9100 optical fingerprint sensor that might just be how Samsung will ditch that home button.

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Cars and trucks of all sorts might allow you to ditch your keys altogether if Synaptics has anything to say about it. The folks at Synaptics have announced that they'll soon be bringing fingerprint sensors to your vehicle as an expansion to their Natural ID brand. Not directly to your vehicle - not direct to you - but through car manufacturers who will implement the sensors in vehicles over the next few years. You'll be using these fingerprint sensors for a variety of purposes sooner than later.

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OK, they're not actually calling it "Force Touch, which could land them in a heap of legal trouble. Formally, it's called "ClearForce force sensing and haptic feedback" but the idea is the same. Developed by Synaptics, the controller technology allows users to apply varying levels of pressure on a press gesture to increase the number of available actions. Now Synaptics is teaming up with automotive supplier Valeo to bring that technology to the touchscreens and dashboards of the smart cars of the future.

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Would you like your vehicle to let you enter with a fingerprint and have settings ready for you when you open the door? How about a vehicle that starts only when your finger touches the ignition? The folks at Synaptics have revealed a set of touch-based technology products for vehicles, showing off their touchscreen technology for smart screen controllers as well as biometric touchpads (and fingerprint readers) for your vehicle's ignition and car handle.

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Apple introduced the idea of a new way of interacting with touch gestures, first with Force Touch and then with 3D Touch on the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Naturally, it will become the next trendy technology that everyone will vie for. Luckily for everyone else, Synaptics has come out with some new touch controllers that could give smartphones like those running on Android exactly that. Calling it ClearForce, Synapitics is introducing a new way to interact with smartphones and expanding the current gesture beyond the current tap, swipe, and pinch.

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Synaptics has debuted the first fingerprint sensing hardware for laptops and other devices that is completely self-enclosed, or "off the grid" in that it doesn't rely on other parts of a computer when authenticating a fingerprint. The company calls its technology "match-in-sensor," and says it will allow more secure transactions on computers as users get more accustomed password-free logins. By isolating fingerprint authentication, it prevents threats like malware on the computer gaining access to the data.

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The idea of adding more functionality to the keys on your keyboard may sound like an annoyance in the making, but Synaptics might have just come with something that could really work. The company has just announced its SmartBar technology at Computex, which basically turns the top of the spacebar into a capacitive touch pad. Think of using touch-based gestures like pinching and swiping on your keyboard, a bit like Apple's recent patent that turns it into a giant trackpad, except only on the big, horizontal key.

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Your fingerprint is more important than you think. J Edgar Hoover may have been right about it being a useful law enforcement tool, but fingerprints are also a good option for securing your mobile devices. Synaptics, a leader in the field of biometric recognition, is announcing their Natural ID will be made available for high-end mobile devices. The benefit of Natural ID is that it needs a touch, not a swipe. That will have more mobile device emulating Apple’s class-leading Touch ID.

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With the FIDO Alliance announcing their new standard for authentication, a variety of methods for unlocking your device are now plausible and likely for the near future. One of those methods is biometrics, where a fingerprint is scanned, unlocking your device and/or the features within. To better take advantage of what FIDO is doing and provide us another layer of security without the need for a plug-in, Synaptics is announcing the SecurePad. By cobbling the fingerprint scanner into the touchpad you’re already familiar with, Synaptics hopes your next log-in won’t need the keyboard at all.

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It would seem that one of the biggest names behind the touchscreens you use every day, Synaptics, have made the push for a next-generation solution for Windows 8.1 with Active Pen abilities. What this means for future Windows 8.1 device makers is that they'll be able to say they've got pen support right out of the box and/or include a pen with the device they're creating. In what may prove to be a situation similar to what we've seen with the rather successful Samsung Galaxy Note series, the folks at Synaptics are making pen usage on devices - both mobile and stationary - a feature baked in at a hardware level.

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Biometric Fingerprint Authentication solutions group Validity have been announced this afternoon to have been acquired by human interface solutions group Synaptics. This acquisition will have the two growing companies aim for a new more solid goal in creating a full, top-to-bottom experience for tablets, smartphones, and notebook PCs. Technology developed by Validity will soon be integrated in with Synaptics own, "underscoring the company's commitment to making smart devices easier to use."

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