While all major carriers in the US have released LG Electronics' 2014 flagship handset LG G4, currently there are reports regarding its successor LG G5, which is reported to feature iris recognition technology to take on Apple and Samsung's fingerprint scanner.

According to IB Times, during the last two years, nearly all high-end devices have been giving priority authentication using a fingerprint scanner. Most recently, Google incorporated fingerprint scanning technology as part of the new Android M OS, making it simpler for original equipment manufacturers to utilize. However, a South Korean report says that now the LG G5 will be featuring the iris recognition technology for authenticity. According to this report, LG G5 release date is pegged for the first half of 2016.

As per latest reports, Irience, a South Korean firm dedicated to biometrics, is currently developing the iris recognition technology. The development is said to be at an advanced stage since the hardware modules necessary for the technology are said to be ready. In addition, it is expected that work on the software will be completed in another two or three months.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that engineers are currently working to enhance the scanning range from 30 cm (12 inches) to about an arm's length of 50 cm (20 inches). As of now, no LG handset features with fingerprint scanner support. Hence, it is speculated that the South Korean tech titan may altogether skip this technology and instead move on to the next big thing - the iris scanners.

The aforementioned South Korean report stated, "Market watchers see that LG Electronics is focused on the iris recognition technology in order to differentiate itself from bigger rivals like Samsung Electronics and Apple in the competition of the application of biometrics to smartphones as LG has been falling behind of them in the mainstream fingerprinting scanning technology."

GforGames reports that while the iris scanning technology is already part of the Vivo X5 Pro smartphone, which comes with a metallic build, 2.5D display glass, along with a killer 32 MP primary camera, 3,500 mAh battery unit and a USB type C port. In addition, the Vivo handset is powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 615 SoC.

Nevertheless, LG Electronics is yet to confirm the specs for the purported LG G5.