Samsung’s new Galaxy Note7, its latest smartphone update, comes with a pretty cool new feature that consumers can probably expect to see more of in the future: an iris scanner that scans your eyeball before it unlocks as a security measure.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 uses a proximity sensor and an IR camera module to recognize the owner’s iris pattern, which is done by holding the phone 10–14 inches from your face with the screen facing toward you, then positioning the phone and your eyes so that they point directly at two circles displayed on the phone.
The Galaxy Note7’s camera then quickly scans the owner’s iris, and once the biometric data stored on file proves to be a match, the phone unlocks for the user.
Owners of Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 can also store sensitive personal documents, like contracts or a copy of a passport, in a secure folder on the phone that can also be guarded with an iris scan, according to The Verge.
But Samsung maintains that the iris scanning technology is not the Galaxy Note7’s main security feature but is instead intended to serve as an “extra layer” of security above and beyond the more common fingerprint sensor for those truly concerned about the sensitivity of data stored on their smartphones.
In addition to the iris scanning feature, Samsung’s 5.7-inch Galaxy Note7 comes with all the usual features that the company’s line of smartphones has become known for — a large display, water resistance and compatibility with an S Pen stylus.
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