Popular smartphone manufacturers in their latest flagship models tried to get rid of a separate fingerprint scanner and include this functionality in the screen. So wanted to do Samsung, just wanted to make Apple in the coming soon iPhone 8. For technical reasons, they have not yet succeeded in accomplishing this, so we have to continue to be content with a separate button or face recognition using a camera.

Meanwhile, Microsoft sees the future of this technology and even patented it. The patent was published on September 7, as the inventors indicated several Microsoft engineers. The patent describes a technology that will bring a fingerprint scanner to the touch screen layer using several sensors and image processing processors.

It describes how the light signal will be emitted through the protective glass of the screen, after which the reflection will be captured by photocells. The collected images will be combined into one that will be checked against the user fingerprint stored on the device, after which access to the system will be allowed or prohibited.

The description says that frameless devices or with minimal frames do not have space for a separate fingerprint scanner. It is believed that the iPhone 8 will have a screen without frames, like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8.

Since Microsoft itself does not produce smartphones, it is likely that this patent will never be embodied in real products running Windows.