Samsung fans may soon have reasons to cheer as the hated rear fingerprint scanner in Galaxy S8 line-up will be gone soon. The South Korean giant drew the ire of many of its users when it decided to kill the Home Button on its Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8. The awkward placement of the fingerprint reader next to the camera on the back of the Galaxy S8 line-up irked many, making the company think of a solution.
If new rumors are to be believed, Samsung’s upcoming flagship device may introduce a new fingerprint-reading technology. According to a new report from Galaxy Club, Samsung has filed for a patent with Korea’s Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS), the country’s patent office, for a pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint reader which may debut on one of its upcoming flagship handsets in 2018.
While there were reports of people speculating the inclusion of new pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint reader in the Galaxy S9 and S9+, a recent tweet from a former Samsung executive indicated that this feature could be introduced in its next 2018 flagship smartphone, Galaxy Note 9.
Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities said earlier this month that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 may come with “under-display optical fingerprint” sensor when it is released in the second half of 2018.
Samsung indeed developed an optical fingerprint reader that was tested on the Galaxy Note 8 but, it turned out to be imperfect due to uneven screen brightness. The area containing the fingerprint reader appeared brighter than the rest of the screen, which is why it eventually couldn’t make it to the Galaxy Note 8. However, now it seems that Samsung has finally developed the technology for the in-display fingerprint reader, and if everything goes according to plans, the Galaxy Note 9 could be the first Samsung handset to feature it.
