Samsung is reportedly working on eye-tracking technology for its latest smartphone. Photo: AFP / Odd Andersen
By tracking a user's gaze, the phone will be able to offer something called ‘smart scrolling,' which means that text
will automatically roll up or down the screen based on eye movement. It means that manually scrolling web or e-book pages with a finger will become a thing of the past for Galaxy owners. Considering that the phone is also rumored to have a 5-inch display, this feature will no doubt make the lives of owners with smaller hands much easier, especially on crowded commuter trains.
The claims come via GSM Israel, a blog with a solid track record in scooping Samsung news, that has somehow obtained screenshots of the SIV's display. The screenshots also seem to confirm that this technology will automatically change screen orientation and pause video playback based on the user's head position.
One of the most intelligent features of the Galaxy SIII was its use of the front-facing camera to ensure that its owner's eyes were fixed on the screen. When a user glances away, the backlight would go out and the screen would fade to black in order to save battery power. Likewise, the display would automatically illuminate each time someone fixed their gaze upon it.
Other leaked information about the upcoming flagship that has come out over recent weeks includes claims that the phone will be available in black and white and come with up to 64GB of internal storage. Samsung has also confirmed rumors that the smartphone will feature a plastic rather than a metal, alloy or ceramic shell and has explained that plastics allow the company to find the right compromise between quality, affordability and ease of mass production.
The launch of Apple's iPhone 5 ran into more than its fair share of problems thanks to quality control issues relating to the complexity of production techniques demanded by the phone's anodized aluminum shell. These issues led a number of early adopters to return their phones when they discovered nicks and scratches on their supposedly pristine devices.