Synaptics is a publicly owned
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
-based developer of
human interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fr ...
(HMI) hardware and software, including
touchpads for computer laptops; touch, display driver, and fingerprint
biometrics
Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...
technology for smartphones; and touch, video and far-field voice technology for
smart home
Smart or SMART may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014
* Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com
* ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper
* '' SMart'', a children's television se ...
devices and automotives. Synaptics sells its products to
original equipment manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
s (OEMs) and display manufacturers.
Synaptics invented the computer touchpad, the
click wheel
The iPod click wheel is the navigation component of non touch-screen iPod models. It uses a combination of touch technology and traditional buttons, involving the technology of capacitive sensing, which senses the touch of the user's fingers. T ...
on the
classic iPod,
Android phones' touch sensors, touch and display driver integrated chips (TDDI), and
fingerprint sensor
A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfa ...
s.
History
19861998
Federico Faggin
Federico Faggin (, ; born 1 December 1941) is an Italian physicist, engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. He is best known for designing the first commercial microprocessor, the Intel 4004. He led the 4004 (MCS-4) project and the design group d ...
and
Carver Mead
Carver Andress Mead (born May 1, 1934) is an American scientist and engineer. He currently holds the position of Gordon and Betty Moore Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), ...
founded Synaptics in 1986.
They used their research on neural networks and transistors on chips to build pattern recognition products.
In 1991, Synaptics patented a refined "winner take all" circuit for teaching neural networks how to recognize patterns and images. The circuit uses basic physics principles in order to select the strongest signal from the different processors.
In 1992, the company used the pattern recognition techniques it developed to build the world's first touchpad for laptop computers that allowed users to control the cursor and click with no additional mechanical buttons. The pad was a replacement for trackballs and mice used at the time.
By 1994, Twinhead and
Epson America
Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano, ...
had adopted Synaptics' touchpad for their computers (Epson with the
ActionNote), followed by
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
in 1995
and later by other computer manufacturers, including
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...
and
Dell
Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies.
Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
.
19992010
In 1999, Francis Lee took over as CEO.
The company had an
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
in 2002. As adoption of the touchpad grew, Synaptics sought to integrate the technology with other products.
In 2004, Apple debuted the
iPod Mini
The iPod Mini (stylized and marketed as the iPod mini) is a discontinued, smaller digital audio player that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. While it was sold, it was the midrange model in Apple's iPod product line. It was announced o ...
and fourth-generation
iPod
The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
, both featuring a scrolling
click wheel
The iPod click wheel is the navigation component of non touch-screen iPod models. It uses a combination of touch technology and traditional buttons, involving the technology of capacitive sensing, which senses the touch of the user's fingers. T ...
that used Synaptics' capacitive touch technology. Synaptics also provided a similar but vertical click wheel for the
Creative Zen Touch portable media player.
In 2005, Synaptics sensors were featured in the Samsung B310, the first mobile phone to use
capacitive-touch technology.
In October 2006, Synaptics provided a live demonstration of the Onyx, a concept smartphone with a color touchscreen enabled by its ClearPad touch controller technology. The Onyx's touch sensor could tell the difference between a finger and a cheek, preventing accidental inputs during calls. The company's touch technology was used in
LG's
Prada phone
The LG KE850, also known as the LG Prada, is a touchscreen mobile phone made by LG Electronics. It was first announced on December 12, 2006 and was created in collaboration with Italian luxury designer Prada. It was made official in a press rel ...
in 2007, which was the world's first mobile phone with a capacitive touchscreen.
In 2009, Synaptics announced the development of the Fuse concept smartphone. It had touch sensitivity on the back of the phone, the ability to interact with the phone by squeezing, animated icons, a user interface sensitive to the phone's orientation and tilt, and
haptic gestures.
2011present
In 2011, the company appointed
Rick Bergman to succeed Francis Lee as CEO.
In 2012, Synaptics introduced the first pressure recognizing touchscreen, which allowed multi-finger and variable-force input. In late 2013, Synaptics acquired Validity Sensors, a fingerprint sensor vendor, adding fingerprint sensing technology to the company.
Synaptics is a founding member of the
FIDO (Fast ID Online) Alliance and the
Universal Stylus Initiative The Universal Stylus Initiative (USI) is a non-profit alliance of companies promoting a proprietary technical standard for interoperable active pen styluses on touchscreen devices such as phones, tablets, and computers.
It defines a two-way commun ...
(USI).
Synaptics acquired Renesas SP Drivers Inc., a Japanese company specializing in chips that manage LCD displays, in 2014. The acquisition enabled Synaptics to combine touch and display driver technologies into a single "TDDI" (Touch and Display Driver Integration) chip.
In 2015, the company expanded into additional markets, including automotive, wearables and PC peripherals. In July 2015, Synaptics announced a unique “match-in-sensor” fingerprint authenticator for laptops and other devices that authenticates the fingerprint within the chip.
The company introduced its first optical-based fingerprint sensor in December 2016, which would allow the sensor to be placed under smartphones' glass displays rather than under a separate button.
After improving the technology, the company sent it into full production a year later. In January 2018, the Chinese company
Vivo announced a smartphone featuring Synaptics' optical fingerprint sensor. This was the world’s first full-production smartphone with fingerprint authentication directly in the
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
display.
In July 2017, Synaptics acquired
Conexant Systems
Conexant Systems, Inc. was an American-based software developer and fabless semiconductor company that developed technology for voice and audio processing, imaging and modems. The company began as a division of Rockwell International, before be ...
, an
Amazon Alexa
Amazon Alexa, also known simply as Alexa, is a virtual assistant technology largely based on a Polish speech synthesiser named Ivona, bought by Amazon in 2013. It was first used in the Amazon Echo smart speaker and the Echo Dot, Echo Studio ...
partner that creates voice and audio software and silicon products for
smart home
Smart or SMART may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014
* Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com
* ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper
* '' SMart'', a children's television se ...
s. At the same time, Synaptics acquired
Marvell Technology Group
Marvell Technology, Inc. is an American company, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, which develops and produces semiconductors and related technology. Founded in 1995, the company had more than 6,000 employees as of 2021, with over 10,00 ...
's Multimedia Solutions unit, which creates video and audio processing technology. The two acquisitions were intended to aid Synaptics' expansion into the
Internet of things
The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other comm ...
(IoT) market.
In August 2019, the board of directors appointed Michael Hurlston as the new CEO. Under Hurlston's leadership the company focused on growing its IoT business, expanding from its focus on sensors on glass towards development of low-power sensors to IoT devices.
In July 2020, Synaptics acquired
DisplayLink
DisplayLink (formerly Newnham Research) is a semiconductor and software technology company. They develop the DisplayLink USB graphics technology, which is designed to connect computers and displays using USB, Ethernet, and WiFi. It also allows ...
,
[ the developer of software and semiconductors that connect visual devices to computers.]
The company expanded its IoT portfolio through the acquisitions of Broadcom's wireless IoT business assets and manufacturing rights in July 2020 and DSP Group in December 2021. From the Broadcom acquisition, Synaptics acquired Broadcom's existing wireless IoT assets, as well as the development team and two products on the roadmap. The company completed the acquisition of DSP Group, a provider of chipsets for VoIP, multimedia, and digital cordless applications, in December 2021.
Technology
As of July 2017, Synaptics held 2000 patents for human technologies. Many Synaptics products are based on capacitive sensing
In electrical engineering, capacitive sensing (sometimes capacitance sensing) is a technology, based on capacitive coupling, that can detect and measure anything that is conductive or has a dielectric constant different from air. Many types of sen ...
technology, sensing the electrical properties of the finger(s) touching the sensor, as opposed to a resistive touchscreen
In electrical engineering, a resistive touchscreen is a touch-sensitive computer display composed of two flexible sheets coated with a resistive material and separated by an air gap or microdots.
Description and operation
There are two diffe ...
. Synaptics also has optical sensing technology.
Products
The company originally focused on developing touch technology products and later expanded into IoT technology. As of 2022, the company develops and markets products for connectivity, sensing, and processing, as well as touch and display drivers, focused on the IoT market.[ In addition to developing workspace technology such as docking stations,] Synaptics' technology is used in devices including gaming systems, media systems, cars, and virtual reality headsets.[
Its connectivity products include wireless connectivity, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth products,] and technology such as its wireless device communications protocol, Matter, which enables devices to operate together regardless of their different wireless interfaces. Synaptics acquired DisplayLink in 2020, adding that company's hardware technology for docking stations and video conferencing, and software for graphics connectivity to its products. It also develops wired connection products such as converters for USB Type-C to HDMI or DisplayPort, for high resolution video display.
The company continues to develop laptop computer touchpads, fingerprint biometric technology for devices including cell phones, and other types of touch sensors and display drivers.[ Synaptics has also developed sensors for multiple parameters, including temperature, magnetic, capacitive, and ]inductive sensor
An inductive sensor is a device that uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to detect or measure objects. An inductor develops a magnetic field when a current flows through it; alternatively, a current will flow through a circuit contain ...
s that can be integrated into devices such as video game controllers, wearable devices such as earbuds.
The company develops a variety of types of chips, including low-power edge AI processors and system—on—chip (SoC) technology for devices, such as smart home wireless devices[ headsets,] and for graphics connectivity for video displays. It develops and markets sound processing chips for voice recognition, used in voice controlled devices, including far-field voice DSPs.
In addition to its processors, it also develops display driver IC chips for technology such as VR headsets.[
]
References
{{Authority control
1986 establishments in California
Manufacturing companies based in San Jose, California
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Computer companies established in 1986
Computer peripheral companies
American companies established in 1986
Semiconductor companies of the United States
Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
2002 initial public offerings