2026年5月4日，WIRED报导了位于波士顿的光学新创 Metalenz 在洛杉矶 Display Week 2026 展示了名为 Polar ID 的人脸扫描平台。Metalenz 的金属表面（metasurface）光学用一片具有奈米结构的透镜取代传统多片透镜堆叠，在体积与元件空间上更小，仍可有效导引光线。公司表示，其元件已在消费性装置中超过3亿件（300 million）上线，主要用于 time-of-flight 感测器做深度感知与自动对焦，显示其已从原型阶段进入规模化部署。
在先前的产品 Polar Eyes 中，Metalenz 已利用偏振侦测，显示不同材质反射的偏振特征不同（如黑冰与路面），并透过机器学习完成辨识；同一机制被延伸至 Polar ID 的脸部认证，主张可阻挡高品质3D面具，而这类面具可骗过 Google Pixel 的 face unlock。Metalenz CEO Rob Devlin 表示，经多家第三方测试后，他们已符合最高安全标准，能阻止各种品质的面具。不同于目前 Apple Face ID，Polar ID 目标是为 Android 生态打造，并宣称已准备好进入量产，预计于2027年推向消费装置（智慧型手机与笔电）。
核心新主张是封装位置：Polar ID 元件可置于 OLED 显示萤幕下方，仅保留正常自拍镜头可见，以减少可见切口，较 Apple Dynamic Island 与传统 notch／punch-hole 布局更连贯。Metalenz 展示了在萤幕下的感测画面：虽然输出亮度与失真会略降，但偏振资讯大致保留。Devlin 表示需在显示模组内预留一段薄化区域，与显示供应链需高度整合，但该区域「看不出来」，且不会明显降低面板品质。若一般版2027年上市，Devlin 预估隐蔽式版本可能再晚一年，即2028年，并可能让 Android 首次以无明显缺口的边到边萤幕，取得 Face ID 等级的安全解锁。
On May 4, 2026, WIRED reported that Metalenz, a Boston optics startup, showcased at Display Week 2026 in Los Angeles a face-scan platform called Polar ID. Metalenz’s metasurface optics replace multi-lens stacks with a single nanostructured lens: smaller in space than traditional systems yet still able to guide light efficiently. The company says more than 300 million of its metasurfaces are already in consumer devices, mainly in time-of-flight sensors for depth sensing and autofocus, indicating it has moved beyond prototype scale into broader deployment.
Metalenz previously used polarization detection in products like Polar Eyes, showing that reflected polarization differs by material (for example black ice versus road) and can be used for machine-learning recognition. The same mechanism is applied to Polar ID face authentication, which it claims can block high-quality 3D masks that can fool Google Pixel’s face unlock. Rob Devlin, Metalenz CEO, said third-party tests confirmed they met top security standards and can prevent masks of any quality. Unlike Apple Face ID, Polar ID is positioned for Android ecosystems, and the company says it is ready for mass production, with deployment in consumer devices (smartphones and laptops) planned for 2027.
The key new claim is placement: Polar ID components can sit beneath an OLED display, leaving only the normal selfie camera visible and reducing visible cuts, offering a cleaner alternative to Apple Dynamic Island and traditional notch or punch-hole layouts. Metalenz showed demo images from under-display operation and found output intensity drops slightly with some distortion, but polarization data is largely retained. Devlin said a thinned display region must be reserved and requires tight integration with display suppliers, yet he said the area is not visibly detectable and does not materially degrade panel quality. He estimated a normal launch in 2027 and said the under-display version may take about one more year, i.e., 2028, and could let Android achieve Face ID-level secure unlock without visible interruptions on edge-to-edge screens.