Galaxy Note7 Iris Scanning Details Come Into Focus

New details are emerging about the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy Note7‘s iris scanning functionality.

More specifically, leaks purportedly showing the setup process for the feature appear to illustrate some of its limitations. For example, users are reportedly advised to hold the device between 25 and 35cm from their faces. TechRadar reports this as a matter of functionality; more disturbingly, AndroidHeadlines says that device must be held at least 20cm away from the face in order “to prevent harmful effects,” adding that “babies should not be allowed to look into the iris scanner.”

If such warnings turn out to be part of Samsung’s official documentation, it could prove alarming to users, and may dissuade many from even trying the iris scanning feature. Meanwhile, more banal warnings that users will need to remove glasses, and that contacts could prevent successful iris scanning, may also prove discouraging.

Of course, at the moment this information isn’t officially confirmed on Samsung’s end, and at launch the device’s biometric technology may prove to have overcome such technological issues. That’s certainly in Samsung’s interest, as the company seeks a place at the vanguard of what could become a big new modality in smartphone biometrics.

Sources: AndroidHeadlines, TechRadar

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July 22, 2016 – by Alex Perala