New Microsoft Lumias may come with iris scanners to unlock phones in under 1 second

Publicat de Cosmin Meca, 25 iulie 2015, 13:13 / actualizat: 30 ianuarie 2021, 12:06

After Microsoft announced that it would lay off up to 7,800 employees, mostly in its phone division, you can’t help but wonder about the future of Microsoft Lumia devices.

But new flagship Lumias are coming, according to a Windows Central report this week — which will include some interesting new features, including an iris scanner. Two devices, codenamed Talkman and Cityman, are rumored to be Microsoft’s next-gen flagship Lumias, coming in the fall with a possible launch at the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin in September.

The smaller of the two, Talkman, will have a 5.2-inch 2,560 x 1,440 pixel display, a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, a 20-megapixel rear camera (coupled with a 5-megapixel selfie cam), 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a 3,000mAh removable battery. The larger, 5.7-inch Cityman (Lumia 950 XL) has similar specs, with main differences being an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, and a 3,300mAh removable battery.

Both devices will reportedly have support for Qi wireless charging, as well as an infrared iris scanner Both devices will reportedly have support for Qi wireless charging, as well as an infrared iris scanner, which will be used to unlock the device in less than a second. Microsoft wouldn’t be the first to incorporate an eye scanner into a phone; ZTE showcased similar technology in March 2015. But the feature is still relatively rare, as most smartphone companies opt for fingerprint scanners for phone unlocking. While we don’t know exact specs, both devices will be very thin and come with a matte polycarbonate body in either black or white.

Some have referred to these devices as 940 and 940 XL — a logical naming scheme, since the current flagship is the Lumia 930 — but the Windows Central report claims it’s more likely that the devices will be called the 950 and 950 XL.Microsoft has not officially confirmed the above, but those waiting for a killer Windows Phone device can still remain hopeful that such a device is coming.