Samsung Galaxy S5 Could Feature Iris Scanner

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is set to debut in the first half of 2014 and could feature eye recognition technology, a company executive has suggested.

Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business, told Bloomberg that the Korean manufacturer was considering putting an iris scanner into its new flagship handset, but nothing was confirmed.

Sales of the Samsung Galaxy S4, which was released in early 2013, have slowed since the iPhone 5S was launched last September and Samsung is looking to offer something similar to the fingerprint recognition technology featured in the Apple handset, reports say.

Samsung Galaxy S5

Hee said the company was targeting an April release for the Samsung Galaxy S5, alongside a successor to the Samsung Galaxy Gear watch. He said themew smartwatch would have more functions and a less bulky design than the current iteration and that Samsung would be launching another wearable device later this year.

Samsung is the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones, but fears that the smartphone market is saturating in the developing world have prompted fears about its future profits. To ensure continued growth, it is targeting wearable technology and the enterprise mobility market. The company hopes that by offering services such as its Knox mobile device management (MDM) platform, it can maintain growth levels and ensure a more balanced business.

However smartphones remain an important business for Samsung given the strong sales of the Gaalxy S3 and S4 and the company is also expected to launch its first handset running the Tizen mobile operating system later this year.

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