Underneath that cool display, face unlock technology could be coming to Android

While it’s been revealed that Google’s upcoming Pixel 11 likely won’t feature new face unlock hardware, the new name shows off some impressive under-display face unlock technology that could start appearing on Android devices as early as next year.

More In a report from WiredA company called Metalenz introduces a new “Polar ID” system that makes iPhone-style face unlocking devices invisible. It does this by hiding most of the hardware under the OLED display.

This new technology uses a flat lens system that captures some of the existing face unlock settings found on the iPhone and some other devices. It is based on optical metasurfaces technology, which uses a nanostructured single lens to bend light towards the sensors used to unlock the face. Metalenz developed this technology to also capture polarization data, which can tell how light bounces off specific surfaces. Together, these form the basis of Polar ID, which works like Apple’s Face ID without the need for a large notch in the screen. Metalenz notes that polarization data is important here because data from an actual human face will differ from, say, a silicon 3D mask.

Metalenz signed a deal with Qualcomm on this technology a few years ago, and now it’s ready to hit the market.

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Polar ID will start appearing on smartphones and laptops in 2027, and the under-display technology will “probably” debut in 2028. The Wired the report notes that unlike Google’s existing camera-based face unlock system on Pixels, it works in the dark. The technology under the screen is not that different from the cameras under the screen, but the biggest difference is that the noticeable quality loss in selfie cameras under the screen, for example, in Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold devices, does not disturb the polarization data. In the demo, there is minimal difference in data collection when the Polar ID device is hidden under the OLED display.

The only difference required on the actual screen is the “thinned” section.

Google has reportedly been working on face unlock technology below the screen for some time. With “Project Toscana”. It was originally expected to launch on the Pixel 11 later this year. But, with ironic timing, A report earlier today revealed that there will be a Pixel 11 series no there is this device ready this year. It’s not clear if Google’s technology has anything to do with Metalenz, but it does was previously noted to be using an IR device to some extent.

Whatever happens with Google’s technology in future Pixels, it’s pretty exciting to see it as an option that could appear on other Android phones in the wild.