14 DAY TRIAL // The saga of the fingerprint sensors embedded into the display on high-end smartphones continues with a new forecast, this time from analyst house KGI.
First, it was the Samsung Galaxy S8 which was supposed to come with a fingerprint sensor integrated into the display, but people close to the matter said the technology wasn’t ready for the spring of 2017 launch and the South Korean firm picked the most convenient alternative.
Given the no-bezel approach on the S8, Samsung moved the fingerprint sensor to the back of the phone, though its position is not the most convenient.
The next model said to come with a sensor integrated into the screen was then said to be Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8, which is expected to land in just a few weeks. Again, Note 8 leaks show that this isn’t the case and Samsung sticks with the fingerprint on the back.
Next in queue is the iPhone 8, with Apple also said to be looking into such a technology, though Cupertino is believed to be failing in the same category as its rival. The iPhone 8 is very unlikely to put Touch ID inside the screen, and instead could give up on the fingerprint sensor entirely.
Nope, it’s not the Galaxy S9
As a result, the Samsung Galaxy S9 expected in the spring of 2018 was supposed to become, after such a long struggle, the first phone to put the fingerprint reader into the screen, but it turns out that once again, that won’t be the case.
KGI has been quoted as saying that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will actually do that, especially because Samsung sees no rush in bringing it sooner on the S9. The reason is Apple’s decision to go for facial recognition instead of Touch ID embedded into the display, so Samsung feels no pressure to do the same thing as fast as possible. The company does not afford such a tech to go wrong, and this means that it wants to use as much time as needed to bring such a sensor in mass production.
As per Apple’s typical release schedule, the next iPhone, which could indeed feature Touch ID in the display, is expected in the fall of 2018, so even if it puts it in the Galaxy Note 9, Samsung will still be the first company doing it. There are rumors, however, that Apple might never return to fingerprint sensors if facial recognition works correctly, so it all depends on the iPhone 8 for now.
Samsung, however, is more keen on making this happen, and the firm says it’s already working with Egis for new fingerprint sensors, and not with Synaptics, which was the original supplier of such parts.
Adding this feature to the phone could make the device substantially more expensive, as sensors installed under the screen are more expensive than traditional readers, which cost only a few bucks at this point.