Samsung Galaxy S10 Models Confirmed To Have In-Display Fingerprint Readers?

Samsung Electronics is going to use in-display fingerprint sensors on all three variants of its upcoming Galaxy S10 series. This is what a report fresh from South Korea claims after hearing about it from an industry source.

The Investor reported Monday that the No. 1 smartphone maker in the world is likely to ditch fingerprint sensors integrated into physical home buttons next year starting with the 10th anniversary handsets of its S series. Samsung has reportedly decided to equip all models of the S10 series with the advanced biometric sensors.

An official from the display industry dished to the online news site that Samsung is going to use two different in-display sensors for the S10 phones. The two high-end models, which will serve as the flagship installments, will feature ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint sensors. On the other hand, the third variant is going to come with an optical in-screen fingerprint scanner.

The ultrasonic fingerprint sensors will be supplied by U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm. Meanwhile, the Korean report implied that Synaptics will be the one to produce the optical fingerprint sensors for Samsung. The difference between the two is that ultrasonic sensors come up with a 3D mapped fingerprint, while optical sensors create a flat image of the user’s fingerprints. Because of this, the ultrasonic scanner offers better accuracy since it is not affected by grease, sweat, or light.

Even though the optical sensor is not as reliable as the ultrasonic one, it is still being considered by Samsung and used by other phone makers due to its affordability. An optical sensor is three times cheaper than an ultrasonic sensor. Moreover, Samsung feels that optical in-screen fingerprint sensors are now ripe for use. Last year, the Korean tech giant wanted to use the technology on its Galaxy S8, but it didn’t realize its plan thinking that the technology wasn’t perfect at the time.

Samsung’s implementation of in-display fingerprint readers on its upcoming Galaxy S10 series is expected to change the landscape of the smartphone market next year. “The in-screen fingerprint scanning will take center stage in the smartphone market in 2019,” KTB investment & Securities analyst Lee Dong-joo said.

The new report contradicts previous leaks and speculations that Samsung would only be equipping two out of three Galaxy S10 models with in-display fingerprint sensors. It was previously thought that the third variant would come with a fingerprint sensor on a side-located, physical home button.