[NewsPoster]

Flagship smartphones and tablets of the future may not have a visible fingerprint reader on the front of the device, if a technology from one research firm is adopted by manufacturers. Sonovation has worked out a way to bond the fingerprint sensors directly onto the underside of a smartphone's glass display, potentially allowing for a future removal of visible readers, such as the home button on more recent Touch ID-enabled iOS devices.

The system involves adding the ultrasonic biometric sensors at the time of manufacturing, reports The Next Web, with it capable of capturing "data into the ridges and valleys" of a fingerprint. The technology also apparently works even if a finger is coated with a foreign substance, like oil or water, with the same accuracy as a clean finger.

In theory, embedding the reader into the display, instead of having a dedicated section towards the base of a device, will allow manufacturers to make the screen take up more of the space on the front of a phone. This also gives the potential for a phone to also shrink in size slightly, bringing the top and bottom edges closer to the display.

So far, this is just an announcement from the research company, with no word on if device producers want to use the technology in the future. It has been noted that it is currently only compatible with Corning Gorilla Glass, so manufacturers will have to think carefully about whether to use it or to switch to another material, such as Sapphire glass.

While Apple does have patent filings for touchscreen integration with Touch ID sensors, it seems unlikely Apple will be using the technology anytime soon.

[sidewaysdesign]

While the advantages of this are obvious, it would also make illicitly capturing or detecting fingerprints easier than ever, when there's no way of knowing where a reader is located.

[Flying Meat]

The home button adds an extra hardware function for such things as resetting a device.
Presumably, without the home button, it would be necessary to move that functionality to another button or combination of buttons... or worse, make it more difficult to perform by requiring some dumb reset tool to get lost, like the sim removal tool.

[DiabloConQueso]

Or, maybe make it like the Apple Watch and/or the new trackpads on the MacBooks with Force Touch.

In a year or five, Force Touch might offer most all the benefits of a physical button without the drawbacks of having a physical button (mechanical degradation, etc.).