Samsung might be looking to change up its face unlock technology for the Galaxy S27 Ultra in 2027.

Rumors are pointing to “Polar ID v1.9” in early test firmware, and other internal logs describe it as a “polarized-light authentication system”. Which means Samsung could be ditching the infrared hardware.

This would be a pretty big pivot for Samsung with its face unlock technology, since the infrared hardware allows for a detailed 3D scan of the face, similar to Apple’s Face ID. It appears that this is being referenced to the “front ISOCELL Vizion sensor and a new secure enclave routine labeled BIO-Fusion Core.”

Apparently, the new face authentication mechanism boasts an unlock latency of around 180ms and it also offers improved resistance to spoofing vs the standard face unlock that has been available on the Galaxy S series.

Take this all with a grain of salt

It’s important to take all of this with a grain of salt, since the Galaxy S27 Ultra is still about 15 months away. And at this point in the development cycle, Samsung is still working on several prototypes of the phone, likely with different versions of face authentication. So this could end up happening, it could also end up being shelved.

Most smartphone makers finish their devices about 6 months ahead of the release; hardware is usually done closer to a year before release. With other minor things being tweaked in the meantime.

Of course, more secure face unlock is always welcomed, and needed. Especially if we’re going to use this as authentication into apps, like banking apps. While many still believe that fingerprint unlock is more secure, face unlock can be much more secure, as long as the hardware is there to make it more secure. This is why Apple’s Face ID uses so much hardware in the iPhone.

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