Vivo Apex -The Uncaged Smartphone

Vivo APEX Concept Phone Has Half -Screen Fingerprint Scanning Tech, Uncaged at MWC 2018.

One of the biggest story of the year unfolded yesterday.

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo on Monday introduced a FullView concept smartphone named APEX that has the world's highest screen-to-body ratio and half-screen in-display fingerprint scanning technology at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2018 (MWC) in Barcelona.

The concept phone is called Apex, and its headline feature is what Vivo describes as “Half-Screen In-Display Fingerprint Scanning Technology.” The idea here is that instead of placing your finger on a thumbnail-sized icon to unlock the phone, you’ll be able to do so in a much larger area of the display.

On Apex, the usable scanning area isn’t quite half the screen — it’s more like a third. Or maybe two-fifths. But in any case, the area is big enough to demonstrate the tech's advantage; this way, you can pretty much just pick up the phone and unlock it without really having to think about it. You're also able to require simultaneous input from two different fingerprints for extra security, or for times when you might want to protect data shared by two people.

Vivo isn’t saying whether the scanner is provided by Synaptics, as was the case with the X20 Plus UD. (My guess would be yes.) It works the same way, requiring an OLED screen and the ability to light up the surface of your finger upon contact. It isn’t quite as fast as a conventional fingerprint reader, and I actually found that it works better if you press your thumb flat against the screen rather than only using the tip. The important thing, though, is that it works.Vivo APEX features top and side bezels of 1.8mm -- said to be the thinnest in the industry. It has a 4.3mm bottom bezel and a screen-to-body ratio exceeding 98 percent.

Microchips mounted directly to the flexible circuit board result in the staggering screen-to-body ratio, courtesy of a flexible OLED platform, Vivo said.

The smartphone maker has fitted the world's first half-screen in-display fingerprint scanning technology in the APEX phone that lets the complete bottom half of the OLED screen recognise a fingerprint.

The technology also enables new usage scenarios such as the new dual-fingerprint scanning feature in APEX for greater security.

The concept device features an 8-megapixel elevating front camera that rises when required and retracts when not in use. It also sports Vivo's own Screen SoundCasting technology that sends vibrations through the display without the need for a traditional loudspeaker.

The Vivo APEX also features a new System in Package (SIP) technology to integrate the DAC and the three operational amplifiers together, reducing the need for circuit board space by nearly 60 percent compared to previous Vivo Xplay6. Vivo says that since this frees up more space in the smartphone's interior, this "technology can allow for increased battery size as well as cooling, thus opening potential for even more design improvements in future smartphones."