The fingerprint scanner on the Samsung Galaxy S8, or rather its specific placement right next to the camera sensor, was seen as a thoughtless design choice from the company, which is unfortunate since the smartphone itself has gotten rave reviews both for its power and overall design.
It might not have been as thoughtless as critics think, however. Previous rumors suggested that in designing the phone, Samsung had actually wanted to implement an in-display fingerprint sensing technology, which means the display doubles as the actual fingerprint scanner instead of a separate in-body module. Samsung, however, reportedly neither had the time nor enough technological advancement to fully introduce it.
Samsung Is Not In A Hurry
But new rumors now say it will finally debut in-display fingerprint sensing technology with the Galaxy Note 9, the supposed successor to the still unreleased, let alone unannounced Galaxy Note 8.
KGI predicts in a new report that the company will fail to implement such a technology with the Galaxy S9, but the Galaxy Note 9, on the other hand, will feature it once and for all. Samsung has chosen to forego the technology in designing the Galaxy S9 since Apple will reportedly not use it for the iPhone 8.
Apple had apparently been planning to use the same technology in time for the iPhone 8, rumors say, but failed to figure out how to. Instead, the company will ditch such plans and opt instead for a virtual button, which leaves the question of Touch ID implementation, but that's a story for another day.
"Samsung has no need to risk adopting under-display optical fingerprint solution in a hurry," says KGI.
While it's certainly a nuisance, the sensor's placement in the Galaxy S8 seems, more than anything, a last-minute change of plans, either because of design restrictions or, more likely, difficulties with implementing an in-display setup.
Besides an in-display fingerprint scanner, KGI says that Note 9 will have other new selling points, including upgraded iris recognition and dual cameras, although dual cameras could appear on the Galaxy Note 8 first, as rumors predict.
Galaxy Note 8
Samsung plans to unveil the Galaxy Note 8 later this month at an Unpacked event in New York. It will feature a fingerprint scanner on the back, as alleged renders suggest. It will reportedly also feature dual cameras and pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, similar to the Galaxy S8. The release date remains a question, but it'll ship later this year, perhaps weeks or months after the unveiling.
