Fingerprint Sensor Shipments to reach 1.26 Billion in 2019

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Despite biometric modalities like face and iris recognition competing against fingerprint biometrics, the consumer market is expected to reach approximately 1.26 billion fingerprint sensor shipments by the end of 2019 with a moderate, albeit sizable, 10.3.% 5-year CAGR increase, according to ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing strategic guidance on the most compelling transformative technologies. Leading and innovative smartphone manufacturers including Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, and LG are driving face recognition applications in consumer electronics as face biometrics apps are expected to boast an impressive 26.9% 5-year CAGR growth until 2024.

End-users certainly have a lot of biometric upgrades to look forward to in the coming years including the incorporation of an “invisible, in-glass” fingerprint sensor for smartphones, a more streamlined approach to iris recognition, as well as more accurate behavioral recognition. However, one particular implementation seems to be more delayed than initially expected: biometrically embedded payment cards with fingerprint sensors are off to rough start.

“We have seen all relevant actors and market innovators making all necessary preparations during the last 3 years - educating the public regarding battery-less fingerprint-embedded cards, technologies that allow energy harvesting from nearby terminals, meticulous conformity to EMV specifications, and even addressing issues like tamper-resistant integrated circuits for additional protection of any biometric data contained therein,” commented Dimitrios Pavlakis, Industry Analyst at ABI Research, “Although most of the supporting technology has indeed reached critical mass there are still a few pricing and operational issues that currently keep many projects in the pilot phase”. 

However, credit card companies like MasterCard and Visa, market leaders like Gemalto, IDEMIA, and FPC and innovative market entrants like IDEX, NEXT Biometrics, Zwipe, and Smartmatic are currently some of the main actors expected to lead this biometric evolution in the near future. Fingerprint sensor embedded payment cards are expected to experience significant growth from 2021 onwards.

The automotive industry is also ripe for a user security upgrade with biometric applications set to increase significantly through 2024. These applications include merging leading modalities like face, fingerprint, voice and iris with ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), health monitoring, and user customization. Advanced analytics and machine vision coupled with face recognition and surveillance, iris recognition in governmental and civil applications, and even biometrically-enhanced cryptocurrency wallets are some of the enticing new applications expected to keep biometric automotive technologies in the spotlight in the coming years.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Biometric Technologies and Applications market data report. This report is part of the company’s Digital Security research service, which includes research, data, and Executive Foresights. Market Data spreadsheets are composed of deep data, market share analysis, and highly segmented, service-specific forecasts to provide detailed insight where opportunities lie.

About ABI Research

ABI Research provides strategic guidance for visionaries needing market foresight on the most compelling transformative technologies, which reshape workforces, identify holes in a market, create new business models and drive new revenue streams. ABI’s own research visionaries take stances early on those technologies, publishing groundbreaking studies often years ahead of other technology advisory firms. ABI analysts deliver their conclusions and recommendations in easily and quickly absorbed formats to ensure proper context. Our analysts strategically guide visionaries to take action now and inspire their business to realize a bigger picture.