Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, will use facial-recognition technology for mobile payments within months of release, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, who said the move will make it stand out among competitor’s such as Apple’s iPhone. While previous Galaxy phones have allowed users to unlock their phones with facial recognition, the S8 would be the first to use the technology to verify financial payment applications.
The smartphone, which will be unveiled later this month, will combine fingerprint, iris and facial detection to verify users accessing mobile services including Samsung Pay. The company is already working with banks to help them embrace facial recognition systems in coming months, the sources said. Samsung declined to comment.
The S8 phone will also come with Samsung’s own voice-based Siri-like digital assistant. However, that was developed largely in-house and the first version of the software won’t borrow much from Viv Labs, the sources added. Samsung acquired the US-based artificial-intelligence software company in October. The Galaxy S8 is also said to come with a full-screen front, minus a physical home button. It will also employ more power-efficient organic light-emitting diode technology, people with direct knowledge of the matter have said.
