The increasing penetration of fingerprint sensors in the high-end smartphone segment could lead to competition between some 30 companies, industry sources have told East Asian media.While Sweden-based Fingerprint Cards (FPC) currently ranks as the top vendor, particularly in the China market, more IC design houses in Taiwan and China, including Goodix, Silead, FocalTech Systems, Egis Technology and Elan Microelectronics, have stepped into the market, Taiwan's DigiTimes reports today.FPC currently holds a 70% share in China's fingerprint sensor market, with clients including Huawei, ZTE, Meizu and Coolpad, according to a Chinese-language United Daily News report.Excluding demand from Apple and Samsung Electronics, global demand for fingerprint sensors for mid-range to high-end smartphones are expected to reach 200 million units and is likely to increase to 400 million in 2017, the sources estimated.However, demand for the sensors is expected to expand at a fast pace in the next 3-5 years if more entry-level smartphones are being upgraded to have the same sensing feature as high-end models, said the sources.
Fingerprint competition predicted in Asia
