Xiaomi 15 Series Might Get an Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor: Report

Xiaomi 15 might bring multiple new advancements over its predecessor to users, as per a new report. The next generation of Xiaomi’s flagship series, which will likely comprise the vanilla Xiaomi 15, Xiaomi 15 Pro, and Xiaomi 15 Ultra, could feature an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, ditching the optical fingerprint scanner of its predecessor. Recently, another report claimed that the smartphone series could be powered by the yet-to-be-announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset. Notably, the Xiaomi 14 series, which debuted in China in October 2023, is yet to be launched in India.

Tipster Digital Chat Station posted about the new development (via GizmoChina) and claimed that the Chinese smartphone maker is working on a new fingerprint scanner technology. This move will see the company use an in-display ultrasonic sensor for the Xiaomi 15 series. The leak also added that the brand might use ultrasonic fingerprint recognition technology by Goodix, which is considered cheaper compared to similar sensors by Qualcomm.

Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors transmit ultrasonic pulse of sound waves inaudible to humans. The sound waves strike against the finger and return with the collected information. It matches the pattern of ridges and the space between them to recognise the user. In contrast with optical fingerprint sensors, it offers several benefits. As the sensor scans the fingerprint in three dimensions, oily or wet fingers can also be scanned easily. It is also a more secure method of scanning fingerprints compared to the optical method. Notably, the usage of this technology is limited to a few premium smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 series.

An earlier report also highlighted that the Xiaomi 15 series could be equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset, which is yet to be announced. The processor might be announced in October 2024, and considering the Xiaomi 14 series debuted in China in the same month last year, the Xiaomi 15 series could be among the first smartphones to be powered by the chip.

On X (formerly known as Twitter), a tipster posted some details about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC. As per the leak, it could reach a top clock speed of 4GHz, showing a significant upgrade over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip which clocked at 3.3GHz. It is also expected to be paired with the Adreno 830 GPU.