From ultra-bright OLED and power-saving modes to ultrasonic fingerprints and multimodal face unlock, displays and biometrics are evolving together.

Brighter, Darker, Smarter Displays

Display technology has always been central to the smartphone experience. In 2026, the focus is split between maximum brightness for outdoor readability and ultra-low brightness for comfortable night use. New OLED stacks, including advanced generations of Samsung’s M-series materials and rival technologies from BOE and LG, allow peak brightness that comfortably exceeds two thousand nits on flagships while maintaining respectable efficiency at typical indoor levels. Samsung Display Newsroom

At the same time, manufacturers have learned that users care just as much about how dim a display can go. Ultra-dark modes reduce minimum brightness to gentle glows that do not shock eyes in dark rooms, paired with system-wide dark themes and blue-light management tuned by circadian research. Displays can dynamically adjust not just brightness and color temperature, but also saturation and contrast based on ambient lighting, content type and user preferences.

Foldable and rollable devices bring new challenges. Flexible OLED panels must balance crease resistance with consistent luminance across bending areas. Engineering refinements in substrate layering and pixel arrangement are gradually making creases less visible in everyday use, though they have not disappeared entirely. However, user surveys suggest that as long as the benefits of expanded screen real estate outweigh the visual quirks, acceptance remains high. Display Daily+1

Under-Display Cameras, Sensors And The Quest For “All Screen”

Manufacturers continue to chase the dream of a truly uninterrupted display, free of notches and punch holes. Under-display selfie cameras have improved, with more transparent pixel structures and better AI-driven de-hazing techniques, although they still lag behind traditional modules for absolute image quality. Some brands instead prioritize ultra-slim bezels and refined punch holes, arguing that camera performance matters more than the aesthetics of a perfect rectangle.

At the same time, displays increasingly double as sensing surfaces. Capacitive and optical layers detect grip, hover and pressure states. Certain gaming-oriented phones use side-mounted touch zones as virtual triggers, while others integrate stylus-grade sampling rates across the panel. These innovations blur the line between display and input device, turning the screen into a rich canvas for nuanced interactions.

Ultrasonic Fingerprints And Multimodal Biometrics

Biometric security is evolving in tandem with display advances. On many premium Android phones, ultrasonic under-display fingerprint sensors have become the default, replacing earlier optical implementations. By measuring tiny pressure-induced changes in ultrasonic waves rather than relying on light reflection, these sensors offer better performance with wet or dirty fingers and are more resistant to spoofing.

Face unlock, once shaken by concerns about basic implementations, is regaining trust through multimodal systems. Some 2026 devices combine structured-light depth sensing with infrared and RGB cameras, fusing signals on-device to authenticate users even in near-dark conditions. Others add behavioral signals such as grip patterns and micro-movement analysis to silently harden authentication against replay and mask attacks.

The result is a layered security model. A fast fingerprint check handles most unlocks. Face recognition becomes a convenient backup or a primary method in regions where masks are less common. For especially sensitive operations, devices can require both, plus a PIN fallback, under policies that users or enterprise administrators configure.

Privacy, Regulation And The Edge AI Factor

With biometric data becoming more intricate, regulators are watching closely. Modern smartphones counter concerns by keeping biometric templates strictly on-device, often within secure enclaves that are isolated from the main operating system. On-device AI models handle biometric matching and liveness detection, reducing the need to send any biometric signals to external servers.

This ties back into the broader on-device AI trend: the same NPUs that run language models and vision enhancements also execute biometric algorithms. Vendors highlight this in documentation and marketing, emphasizing that template generation, matching and anti-spoofing analysis never leave the phone.

New regional rules may soon require transparent disclosures about biometric processing, retention periods and deletion options. Expect settings panels that clearly show which biometric methods are active, what data is stored and how to reset or erase it. Enterprise deployments will layer their own policies on top, sometimes disabling consumer convenience features in favor of stricter hardware security keys and multi-factor flows.

Closing Thoughts And Looking Forward

Displays and biometrics may seem like separate domains, but in 2026 they are increasingly intertwined. Under-display sensors, all-screen ambitions and context-aware brightness profiles show how much intelligence now sits just beneath the glass.

In the medium term, we may see further experiments with micro-LED for even higher brightness and efficiency, as well as photonic-crystal or other exotic approaches to improve outdoor readability. Biometric systems will likely move toward continuous, low-friction authentication, where your device is always subtly verifying that you are still the one holding it, without intruding on your attention.

For users, the net effect should be devices that feel more transparent and more secure at the same time. Screens will fade into the background as content floats in front of your eyes, while lock-screen animations quietly confirm that the phone knows, with high confidence, that it is you.

References

100 Million Units of Foldable OLED Demand Forecasted in 2028, Samsung Display, https://global.samsungdisplay.com/28924?category=55&page=1&type=list

OLED Market for Foldable Phones Poised to Double by 2028, DisplayDaily, https://displaydaily.com/oled-market-for-foldable-phones-poised-to-double-by-2028/

[Press Release] Foldable Phone Shipments Gradually Rise, Market Penetration Expected to Reach Nearly 5% by 2028, TrendForce, https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20240603-12170.html

Global foldable phone shipments rise: How Samsung, Oppo, Vivo and other brands performed, Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/mobiles-tabs/global-foldable-phone-shipments-rise-how-samsung-oppo-vivo-and-other-brands-performed/articleshow/110704787.cms

China’s Foldable Phone Shipments to Likely Jump 52% This Year, IDC Report Shows, Yicai Global, https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/chinas-foldable-phone-shipments-to-likely-jump-52-this-year-idc-report-shows

Author and Co-Editor: Pierre Tremblay – Mobility Technologies, Montreal, Quebec; Peter Jonathan Wilcheck, Co-Editor, Miami, Florida.

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