Is a biometric revolution starting to get underway in the world of PCs and laptops?
Two newly announced devices represent further steps in that direction. Huawei’s Matebook E is a convertible tablet featuring an embedded fingerprint sensor; while it’s technically a mobile device with an attachable keyboard, it runs on Windows 10 and an Intel chip, suggesting PC aspirations under the hood. As for the Matebook X, it is definitely a notebook laptop, and features a fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button.
Two devices from one OEM do not make a revolution, but the biometrics specialists involved help to illuminate a bigger picture. In announcing its Matebook E integration, mobile biometrics leader Fingerprint Cards framed it as its first big step into the PC market, where it’s seeking growth beyond the saturated mobile market it dominates. The company’s rival, Goodix, appears to be making a similar move with its Matebook X integration.
And the biometric trend is being driven by bigger brands, from the consumer perspective. Microsoft has sought to establish itself as a biometric security leader with Windows 10’s Windows Hello system, which revolves around biometric authentication, and there’s a growing number of devices featuring embedded fingerprint and facial recognition capabilities from third party OEMs eager to establish compatibility with this functionality. Apple, meanwhile, incorporated an embedded fingerprint sensor into the newest version of its MacBook Pro laptop. Given that Touch ID is often cited as the key pioneer that led the biometric revolution in mobile devices, it’s worth paying attention to the fingerprint scanning system’s arrival in the PC domain – and who is following it’s lead now.
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May 25, 2017 – by Alex Perala
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