Samsung Galaxy S8 To Have Facial Recognition For Payments

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is coming out at the end of the month, and leaks have been abounding about what will be included in the upcoming smartphone. While expectations are that it will have a curved screen, a significantly larger display and a slimmed-down look, a new report from Bloomberg revealed the Galaxy S8 will also have built in facial recognition technology to enable payments via the mobile phone.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that by making payments super secure by using biometrics, Samsung is aiming to stand out from the pack and differentiate itself from Apple and the iPhone 8, which is expected to hit store shelves in the fall. According to Bloomberg, the Galaxy S8 will incorporate fingerprint, iris and facial detection to confirm a user when making mobile payments via Samsung Pay. The report noted Samsung is already working with banks to get them comfortable with using facial recognition systems. Older versions of Samsung’s Galaxy line of devices have used facial recognition technology but never for a payment app.

With consumers increasingly embracing mobile payments, particularly outside of the U.S., securing the phones from hackers is growing in importance. The sources told Bloomberg Samsung has been attempting to improve its facial recognition technology over the past few years. Samsung isn’t the only one interested in facial technology. Over the past few years, Apple has acquired developers of facial recognition technology and was issued a patent last week to detect faces via information on digital video feeds, reported Bloomberg.

In addition to built in facial recognition for payments, the Galaxy S8 is also expected to have Bixby, its virtual personal assistant, built in. Samsung has a lot riding on the Galaxy 8 after the embarrassing short-lived Galaxy Note 7, which had a battery that was prone to catching fire.