Samsung Galaxy Iris Sensors Now Support Google’s Biometric API

Samsung has updated the iris scanners in its Galaxy S9 and Note9 smartphones to now support the new Google Biometric API.

Samsung’s iris scanning tech was first debuted in 2016 in Samsung’s Galaxy Note7, and promised a new fool-proof form of biometric security on the notion that a person’s irises are unique and nearly impossible to replicate. The iris scanner has since been featured on the Galaxy S8, S9, Note8 and Note9, though it was absent from the most recent additions to Samsung’s lineup of smartphones, the Galaxy S10 and Note10.

Users could scan their irises to unlock their phone, to use Samsung Pay, and the Samsung Secure folder in their phone. Its popularity however, was limited due to the need for developers to use Samsung’s in-house SDK instead of Google’s more popular package.

With the newfound support of Google’s Biometric API, Samsung users with iris scanners will now be able to use them to log into a wider range of apps that have also been updated with the same API, including Google Pay, LastPass, and a number of banking apps.

Google launched its new API in early November of this year, after the launch of its latest flagship Pixel 4 smartphone. The Pixel 4 came equipped with Face Unlock for biometric authentication, Google’s answer to Apple’s popular Face ID feature found on the iPhone.

The launch of the Pixel 4 also signalled the launch of Android’s latest OS, Android 10, and with it came the new Biometric API, an upgrade to the BiometricPrompt API that was introduced with Android Pie in 2018.

Source: Android Police

(Originally posted on Mobile ID World)