OPPO has reportedly patented a new feature for its wearables that unlocks your phone by scanning the veins in your hand.
The patent describes this new feature as the “Venous Unlocking Method and Vein Unlocking Device”, and although it was filed by OPPO back in 2019, it has only now been approved.
Image credit: CNET (LG Palm Scan)
This isn’t a completely new idea since LG toyed with a similar idea with their G8 ThinQ back in 2019 as well. LG used the feature in its smartphone by utilizing a sensor at the top of the device; whether or not OPPO will implement the feature in their smartphones is still unknown.
If OPPO’s take on the feature is anything like LG’s, then we can expect it to work by first mapping out the features of your hand, which includes identifying its thickness, and other characteristics. Using that info, a software algorithm identifies the user and unlocks the device.
We’re slowly seeing what were once prototypes of seemingly gimmicky features being realised in new devices such as under-display selfie lenses, absurdly fast charging speeds, and foldable phones – so the vein-scanning feature could very well become commonplace in the near future.
