LG Announces G8 ThinQ Smartphone That Uses 'Advanced Palm Vein Authentication' Tech To Unlock (techcrunch.com) 74
LG's flagship G8 smartphone has been officially launched today, bringing many expected features that were teased over the past few months and several not-so-expected features. One such unusual feature in the G8 is its palm vein recognition, dubbed Hand ID, which LG claims is the first to offer this capability. TechCrunch reports: From the company's press materials, "LG's Hand ID identifies owners by recognizing the shape, thickness and other individual characteristics of the veins in the palms of their hands." It turns out, like faces and fingerprints, everyone's got a unique set of hand veins, so once registered, you can just however your hot blue blood tubes over the handset to quickly unlock in a few seconds. The Z camera also does depth-sensing face unlock that's a lot harder to spoof than the kind found on other Android handsets. LG's also put the tech to use for a set of Air Motion gestures, which allow for hands-free interaction with various apps like the camera (selfies) and music (volume control). Other features of the G8 include a 6.1-inch QHD+ "Crystal Sound OLED" display that uses the screen as an audio amplifier. There's a Snapdragon 855 processor with 6GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage, three cameras on the rear including a 16-megapixel Super Wide (F1.9), 12-megapixel Standard (F1.5), and 12-megapixel Telephoto (F2.4), a 3,500mAh battery that charges via USB-C, a headphone jack, and 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC.
Screen as audio amplifier? (Score:5, Informative)
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I believe you meant screen as audio transducer... At least it keeps the headphone jack!
I think amplifier could be perfectly acceptable use of the word here. The transducer is what would be acting on the back of the screen, and the shape of the screen amplifies the air pressure waves which would otherwise be tiny without the available surface area, but would none the less still be air pressure waves.
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the motor (magnet circuit and voice coil) is the transducer
definitely.
and the cone is the amplifier
arguably.
Cut the cone out of an old loudspeaker. Notice it still makes sound but at a greatly reduced volume and efficiency?
in this case is what changes electrical energy into pressure
Like the the magnetic coil that applies the force to make something move?
and that includes the radiating surface
That is your own definition. In fact I can't find the radiating surface mentioned in Wikipedia or in my textbook.
since the pressure generated is proportional to the radiating surface
So you're saying a bigger radiating surface would "amplify" the pressure?
and the radiating surface is required for the transformation to take place
Again hold up one of those surface transducers in the air and hear that wonderful transformation having already taken
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The screen only acts as a transducer for calls. Basically a bone conduction system that makes it easier to hear the other person in a noisy environment. It can't be used as a speaker.
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It /could/ be used as a speaker eventually, but in this specific product LG has limited it to phone calls and designed it solely for bone conduction.
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The physical limitation is that it's not loud enough in this phone.
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That might not be how veins work. Or masturbation.
Would you be willing to take a moment and explain, for the purpose of education and curiosity, how your species does it?
Dude, it's called an iPhone (Score:2, Insightful)
I truly wish some OS would emerge that I could PAY FOR that would leave my privacy intact.
In what way does an iPhone not meet that criteria.
You can turn off location and know an app is not getting your location (from cell tower or otherwise, it can still do some determination based on IP address of the phone, but you can use a VPN to work around that).
You certainly will never be asked if you like a location looking it up in Apple Maps...
And of course since Apple makes money from the phones and not you, Appl
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Well it's good then the topic is privacy and not security... perhaps you should try at least a little to keep up with the discussion at hand before posting?
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Reasonable point, he was kind of implying he wanted to be able to instal such an OS on what he had...
But still, if he truly cared he would go with Apple hardware to get at the OS that did what he wanted.
I'm on board if it can also read your fortune (Score:2)
I look forward to lifeline analytics, so that the phone can send out texts if it thinks you are in peril that day.
I wonder how unique palm prints are, never have seen studies on that...
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"NO! I'm NOT having an emergency! No, I didn't call for help. Stop stalking me!!!"
I so totally hope somebody sells you this feature. LMFAO
"Oh, it's just that guy in a SuperGrover costume with the smart watch again, false alarm." "... help... me... ...elp!"
No matter how you try it... (Score:3)
BioMetrics is not a valid identity or security mechanism and will never be. Machines are not perfect, neither are you, and you could lose access to your devices if your bio-metrics change. Health problems, scraps, cuts, bruises, or even worse a lopped off limb could get you locked out of you device. Not only that but the technology to scan and learn you bio-metrics is the same technology to be used to store that data and use it in a replay. As seen in other cheap tricks like unlocking them with pictures. Yes, they will try to secure that further but at the end of the day, every part of your body can be replicated with impressive detail if someone wants to bad enough and the more and more this technology matures the more and more people will understand the feeling to being betrayed by their own security implementations.
I am sorry dave... but I can't let you ... o wait... Hello Master Key what do you want me to do?
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Biometrics plus your PIN helps protect you from everything but a rubber hose attack, which is always a threat, and a reason why we have to make a better future. Sadly, no phone can do that for us.
How can you "lose access to your devices" (Score:2)
BioMetrics is not a valid identity or security mechanism and will never be.
Literally hundreds of millions of people already use it every day.
you could lose access to your devices if your bio-metrics change.
All mobile devices that support biometrics allow for PIN entry if the biometric will not work.
even worse a lopped off limb could get you locked out of you device.
If you lopped off all my limbs I could still use my nose to enter a PIN.
Not only that but the technology to scan and learn you bio-metrics is t
It does make it "valid" (Score:2)
That does not make the tech valid.
Since it works, it does indeed make it valid. Perhaps you mean some other word.
even though a little thought tells you that it's a bad idea.
With even more thought you realize it's a very good idea indeed that most people have protection at all, which they generally did not before biometrics made it somewhat tolerable to have a passcode on your phone.
it just means lots of people are being stupid.
No, just a handful of biometric deniers...
Interesting variation on a rubber hos
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Literally hundreds of millions of people already use it every day.
Literally hundreds of millions eat too much junk food, therefore it's good for you.
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Nobody is forcing you to use biometric authentication. You always need to set a password lock on your device if it fails to recognize you anyways. A lot of people "protect" their devices with such terrible passwords (I can see someone making an L or a square to unlock their phones without even meaning to) that biometric authentication turns out to be safer that what they're currently doing. My opinion is that, although in theory biometric authentication is weaker than a strong password, it protects you more
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Ok, so now a thief has to carry a weapon so he can force you to unlock the phone. Progress.
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Most thieves are not going to use violence to steal from you. I've had stuff stolen from me a few times, and it was always either something I was carrying but that I wasn't looking at, or they broke into a car, into my apartment, etc.
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Most thieves are not going to use violence to steal from you
Agreed. Most thieves are also not stalking you to see you enter the PIN code. They grab it out of your pocket/bag, or break into your car or your apartment, and then just sell the phone for a few bucks without trying to unlock it.
But in the situation where they really want to get into your phone, they will now be forced to use violence.
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If that was true, it would already be happening. People didn't start unlocking their phones with their thumbprints, faces, etc. yesterday.
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Biometrics are a massive security win for most people. You simply don't understand the threat model most people face: Laziness and imperfect human memory.
Having a decent password is obviously best, but also annoying to have to type it in every time, vulnerable to shoulder surfing when used in public, and the more secure it is the easier it is to forget. Most people re-use their passwords too.
So for the majority of customers the choice is between no security, crap security like a short PIN number or unlock p
And with this announcement, (Score:2)
the developed world is officially fiddling while Earth burns. Really, why do we need all this new gee-whiz shit, other than to one-up each other while we anesthetize ourselves against the failure of the old gee-whiz shit to give our lives meaning and purpose?
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Did you ever wonder why Emperor Nero held a small party for a few close friends as much of the city was burning?
I mean, if history is instructive or not depends on if we understand it, not merely if we refer to it.
Biometrics (Score:4, Funny)
Did you know that when you set up a new Android phone, you can use your dick on the fingerprint reader and then you'll have to whip out your dick every time you want to use your phone?
Don't ask me how I know that, but let me just say that HR was not amused.
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Isn't that in Egypt?
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Not locking your phone is good and all until you have some drinks with some friends that decide to prank on you, using your phone to post bullshit on social media, or reading your conversations, or whatever.
Effing Great (Score:2)
Where as before, all I had to do was worry about the NSA chopping off a single finger. Now, I have to fear my entire hand being severed in order to unlock my phone and read all my secrets (which are already known by Facebook).
***
All that said, I absolutely love my LG V20. Best cell phone I have ever owned: USB Type-C, Removable Battery, Slick thin metal case, microSD card, and the least problems of ANY smartphone I've owned (much less problems than either my iPhone or Samsung Galaxy's).
Biometric hallenge (Score:2)
Do people buy LG Phones? (Score:1)