Overview
- Metalenz demonstrated Polar ID at Display Week with an under‑OLED prototype that unlocked a face and flagged a 3D mask in a demo observed by WIRED.
- The system uses a flat metasurface lens and reads polarization patterns in reflected light to tell living skin from materials like silicone.
- The company says the setup works in bright or dim light and in the dark, and it takes far less space than Apple’s multi‑element TrueDepth hardware.
- Metalenz targets mass production for phones and laptops in 2027, with an under‑display version aimed for 2028 that requires a thinned region of the OLED and tight work with display makers.
- A 2023 partnership with Qualcomm is meant to scale the tech, and separate reports indicate Google’s Pixel 11 is unlikely to add new face‑unlock hardware this year.