14 DAY TRIAL // Now that Apple has unveiled its entire 2017 iPhone lineup, it’s Samsung’s turn to come up with something new to the market, and the firm was expected to at least try to do this with the upcoming S9 series.
The South Korean’s next flagship was rumored to be its first smartphone launching with a fingerprint sensor embedded into the screen, but according to reliable leakster UniverseIce, that’s not going to happen.
While no other specifics were provided, he says this is “100 percent” accurate information, which means Samsung has two possible options: either copy Apple’s approach and launch the Galaxy S9 with facial recognition or stick with the fingerprint sensor placed on the back.
At this point, both options have equal chances and Samsung could very well mix the two and thus offer the S9 with both a fingerprint sensor and facial recognition. The firm already does that on the S8, but the difference on the next generation will be that the S9 would employ 3D sensing cameras similar to the ones on the iPhone X.
Note 9, first model with fingerprint sensor in the screen
Previous rumors indicated that the Galaxy Note 9 launching in the summer of 2018 could be the first smartphone coming with a fingerprint sensor integrated into the display, and if today’s speculation is true, there’s a good chance this option is still on the table.
Both Apple and Samsung have looked into fingerprint sensors embedded into the display, but the two tech giants reportedly gave up on the idea due to technical issues. Apple itself developed several prototypes with such features and the firm even delayed the start of iPhone X mass production as it needed more time to find a new place for the fingerprint sensor, but in the end, it was all a big bet on facial recognition.
The S9 is now expected to launch in early 2018, with some sources indicating that Samsung could unveil it as soon as February.