OnePlus today confirmed that its upcoming flagship, the OnePlus 6T, will come with an in-display fingerprint sensor. In an email to CNET, the company referred to the feature as Screen Unlock:
We unlock our phones multiple times a day, and Screen Unlock reduces the number of steps to complete the action. By adding this feature as an addition to other display unlocking options such as Face Unlock, users will have options to unlock the display in a way that is most efficient for them.
OnePlus also claims that it originally intended to include the technology in the OnePlus 5T, but ended up withdrawing from that idea due to quality concerns as “the technology wasn"t mature enough to meet [its] standards for delivering a fast and smooth user experience."
The existence of an in-screen fingerprint sensor was first hinted by the leaked images of the phone’s retail packaging just earlier this month. Those images also depicted a phone that looks very similar to Oppo’s – OnePlus’ parent company – R17.
OnePlus’ partial confirmation could mean that the rest of that leak – the edge-to-edge display with a notch just for the front camera sensor – is also true, meaning that the 6T could end up being slightly more than just an incremental update over the OnePlus 6, which launched in May just a few months ago.
Pricing for the OnePlus 6T remains a mystery at the moment, but it is expected to be launched sometime next month. As per previous reports, the phone may also be the first time OnePlus will have a carrier deal to offer in the U.S.