Apple’s Face ID remains the benchmark for high-security biometrics, and Polar ID could bring similar, payment-grade security to Android devices by enabling true under-display Face ID.

This under-display Face ID would allow true all-screen phones, overcoming current limitations of under-display systems and potentially broadening high-security biometric authentication to Android.

Metalenz demonstrated Polar ID functioning beneath an OLED display at Display Week, with the sensor remaining active though the signal is slightly distorted and intensity reduced.

Polar ID has moved into mass production readiness through partnerships with Qualcomm since 2023, with planned deployment on smartphones and laptops starting in 2027.

Metalenz unveiled Polar ID as a face-recognition technology that works under an OLED display without a notch or punch-hole, showcased publicly in Los Angeles.

If adopted by manufacturers, Polar ID would eliminate display cutouts and notches, freeing up screen real estate and improving the user experience.

The broader display-innovation backdrop includes Samsung’s health-sensor OLEDs and ultra-bright panels, with speculative notes about future AI hardware efforts like an AI-agent smartphone in 2027.

Polar ID captures polarization data to identify material properties of reflections, enabling secure authentication even against precise masks and challenging lighting.

Traditional under-display cameras struggle with depth and spoof resistance, whereas Polar ID uses polarization-based sensing beneath the display to address these weaknesses.

Implementation requires close collaboration with display manufacturers and a thinned housing for the Polar ID sensor, but it does not significantly impact panel quality.

Metalenz’s Polar ID platform uses metasurface polarization data to distinguish real faces from 3D masks, offering security beyond current face-unlock technologies.

Polar ID uses metasurface optics to capture polarized light through the display without quality loss, enabling secure, 0% spoof acceptance comparable to Apple’s Face ID.