Synaptics hints at 'next-generation' security OS from Microsoft

Synaptics and AMD today announced that they're teaming upward on a biometric security solution for consumer and business organization PCs built on AMD platforms. But for Microsoft watchers, the most curious portion of the announcement is that the biometric tech is squarely focused on a mysterious "next-generation operating system" from Microsoft.

"The collaboration brings a new level of security for AMD-based laptops by leveraging Synaptics' unique FS7600 Match-in-Sensor fingerprint sensor engineering with powerful AMD Ryzen Mobile processors, and Microsoft'southward forthcoming biometric security OS including Windows How-do-you-do," Synaptics says.

Synaptics' Match-in-Sensor tech is a way of keeping fingerprint authentication "off the grid," the visitor says. Performing authentication on a defended chip keeps it isolated from the rest of the system, hardening security and helping to prevent potential malware from influencing the input and output functions of the sensor.

Polaris, mayhap?

It's not entirely clear what the biometric security Os is that Synaptics is referring to, as Microsoft itself hasn't announced any forthcoming releases. However, information technology could be related to a Microsoft project chosen Polaris, a more mod version of Windows 10 for desktops that Windows Central senior editor Zac Bowden reported on earlier this twelvemonth.

Built on an internal project chosen Windows Cadre Bone, which aims to plough Windows into a modular OS, Polaris is said to focus on desktop, laptop, and ii-in-1 form factors. The goal of Polaris is to provide a shell that Windows users are familiar with, only while leaving behind legacy components in favor of UWP apps. Co-ordinate to our reporting, Polaris would even so be able to utilize some course of virtualization to run Win32 programs. However, dropping legacy cruft would, in theory, allow Microsoft to create a more secure version of Windows ten.

Equally to whether Polaris is what Synaptics is referring to, information technology'due south all speculation at this betoken. The last we heard was that Microsoft is targeting 2022 for a Polaris release, but it'due south an interesting possibility to consider. Information technology's as well worth noting that Microsoft'due south partner briefing, Inspire, starts this week, then Synaptics could be timing its announcement with something Microsoft will reveal there.

Understanding Windows Core OS and Microsoft'due south 'Polaris' for modernistic PCs

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