Biometric Smartphone Market Exploded in 2016

The biometric smartphone market is red hot, according to the 2017 edition of “Biometric Smartphone Update” by Acuity Market Intelligence, a technology strategy and research consultancy. The study reports that 87 smartphone vendors introduced 346 biometric smartphones last year, for a total 549 introduced since 2013. This firm also says that roughly 1 billion biometric smartphones—40 percent of the global smartphone market—are currently in use.

“The proliferation of biometric smartphones is extraordinary. The 500 models currently available represent a tenfold increase in two years,” said Maxine Most, principal, in a press statement. “Biometric smartphone growth will continue as mobile 
application security, particularly for financial services, requires biometric authentication, low-cost sensors drive down the cost of biometric integration, and consumers demand an end to password- and PIN-based security.”

Within two years, Acuity predicts biometric smartphones will reach 100 percent market penetration.

“This will not only fundamentally change the dynamics of the smartphone market but create a truly global platform for biometric authentication,” said Most.