Apple vs Samsung: Galaxy S5 iris scan beats iPhone’s Touch ID?

Samsung could well beat Apple in building the most secure phone following reports that it plans to have an inbuilt iris scanner in the upcoming Galaxy S5.

The latest rumour about the Samsung S5, which is expected to be announced next January at the MWC in Barcelona, points out to the incorporation of eye scanning technology.

With the Galaxy S4, Samsung introduced the gesture recognition technology where a user could swipe the screen by simply waving the hand over the scree, without actually touching it.

Except for a not-so-perfect face recognition feature, present on the Android phones ever since the Android 4.0 update, smartphones were being unlocked using alphanumeric passwords.

Apple for the first time launched a biometric feature in its iPhone 5s with the Touch ID – a fingerprint scanner – thereby marketing it as the most secure smartphone in the market.

Samsung may now go a step ahead and introduce a more advanced feature in its next flagship smartphone.

Iris scanning works through the use of infrared light into an eye and is pretty accurate. All that the phone requires is a powerful front camera and an infrared beamer.

But will Samsung be the first to introduce it?

AOptix, a US-based firm has developed Stratus, which it claims is the first comprehensive mobile identity solution “Made for iPhone” delivering iris, fingerprint, voice and face recognition in one integrated solution.

The company which received its funding from the US Department of Defence has already released the SDK for iOS, for use by developers.

The accuracy of an iris scan is well documented. Iris scan is widely used at immigration checkpoints across the UAE.

If Samsung decides to incorporate the new technology in its upcoming device, it could well trump iPhone’s Touch ID edge.

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