There are plenty of rumors surrounding the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 6 – be it the larger display screen, an enhanced S-Pen stylus or even changes in naming to Galaxy Note 7. However, the Korean company has yet to go public with details of the successor to the Galaxy Note 5.
According to the latest reports, Samsung has registered a brand new trademark that points towards an all-new user-friendly security feature coming with the new Galaxy Note 6. The reports are surfacing from a Dutch website, claiming that the company has recently requested marks for Samsung Iris and Samsung Eyeprint.
Samsung Galaxy Note series has always been seen as the productivity handset from Samsung. As a result, it makes total sense that the company might be trying to bring a new security and authentication feature to this phablet, something that will undoubtedly give the Note 6 an edge over the rest of the pack, including the upcoming iPhone 7 Plus.
Samsung usually uses the Note series to introduce new features or rather prepare the path for the features that will be introduced on its next Galaxy S flagship. In addition, working with users’ eyes is not anything new to Samsung – it already uses it to control scrolling or even keep phones lit whenever one is staring at the screen. So, why not extend this eye tracking ability to include an iris scanner in the Galaxy Note 6?
Fingerprint scanners came in to eliminate the agony of having to depend on passwords and passcodes. However, new technologies for identification and authentication have begun popping up, with the likes of Windows 10 already supporting facial recognition for device unlocking. But is it really the perfect way of logging in to your phone without looking like you are taking a selfie or something?
If anything, biometric authentication methods are aimed at eliminating the pain involved with entering passwords and passcodes. Of course, one would argue that having an iris scanner is an ideal thing because one naturally looks at the phone, something that would ease the entire process.
However, it is one thing to stare at a screen and it is totally a different thing when the phone has to pick out your iris, scan it to compare with stored data and then proceed with giving you permission to access the data. If this process isn’t quick enough, not so many will be willing to ditch their fast and painless fingerprint scanners for iris scanners.
As for the case of Samsung, the requested trademarks involved a Samsung Eyeprint and a Samsung Iris, which could mean a combination of both to bring out the best of biometric authentication on the upcoming Galaxy Note 6. Still, the Korean company has to find the right balance between accuracy and speed in order to term such a feature as a USP for any of Samsung Galaxy Note 6 or next year’s Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Edge.