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Goodix Technologies has hit this year’s MWC 2018 event with an announcement of entry into the NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) market segment and a brand new in-display fingerprint scanner. The company’s entry into the NB-IoT market is the result of Goodix acquiring CommSolid, a Germany-based cellular IP company that already has a relatively large footprint in the industry. Although the expertise of Goodix doesn’t quite extend into the market of low-powered IoT network radios, the move actually does make some sense since it has a good deal of experience working with energy-efficient solutions in general. NB-IoT and IoT in general are expected to grow exponentially and Goodix hopes to utilize its RF chip design and development center to accelerate differentiation of SoCs that target the low-powered IoT market.
With regard to its new fingerprint scanner, Goodix is showing off the second-generation iteration of its optical under-display technology. The new variant is said to bring enhanced performance over the previous attempts, suitable for the high-end device market and use in top-of-the-line global handsets. Best of all, for those who have been waiting for this feature to hit phones in a reliable and consistent way, the company has said that it is confident it will be able to begin mass-production for commercial use later this year. A more specific timeframe has not been made available and no partners that may have already ordered the solution have been named. In the meantime, the announcement coincides directly with live demos of the technology, which will be given to visitors to the company’s booth at MWC 2018. The implementation won’t be shown in any currently marketed device or planned future products but in demo-phones meant to show the full capabilities of the new fingerprint scanner.
For those lucky enough to be attending the Barcelona event, the company will be talking up its drive to bring NB-IoT to more solid commercial footing and showing off its new fingerprint tech at booth No.1E70. With any luck, the firm will also be able to follow through on its promises and usher in the new era of IoT innovation promised to be enabled by 5G.
