Samsung Galaxy S9 To Feature Rear-Mounted Fingerprint Scanner Like S8, Note 8

It appears Samsung would still use the rear fingerprint reader on its next flagship smartphone that’s due for release early next year. Contrary to speculations that the Galaxy S9 would be Samsung’s first flagship handset to sport a display-embedded fingerprint sensor, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is now saying that the technology won’t be ready for the upcoming device.

The renowned tech leaker predicted late last week that Samsung is going to use the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for the third time when it launches the Galaxy S9, as first reported by 9To5Google. The first time that the company introduced this setup was with the Galaxy S8. The placement of the sensor has actually received a lot of backlash from consumers who think that positioning it beside the camera lens would make it easy for them to accidentally smudge the lens.

Samsung ditched the home button-embedded fingerprint scanner when it embraced a new design for its flagship phones this year. This design, of course, pertains to the edge-to-edge and almost bezel-less appearance of the Galaxy S8 that is expected to be carried over to the Note 8. Apparently, by allowing the Infinity Display to take up much space on the front, there’s no more space for the physical home button there. Hence, putting the fingerprint reader at the back is justifiable.

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According to SamMobile, Kuo believes that Samsung is not rushing to come up with a display-embedded fingerprint sensor since Apple has already ditched efforts of implementing the advanced technology on the highly anticipated iPhone 8. This then gives both companies equal chance in introducing smartphones with display-embedded fingerprint readers in the second half of next year.

Samsung is believed to be preparing an under-display fingerprint sensor for its Galaxy Note 9. Kuo claims that in light of this, the South Korea tech giant could also switch from Synaptics to Egis for its supply of fingerprint sensors for the Galaxy Note 8 successor. The switch will obviously affect pricing, since Egis’ touch-sensing technology is estimated to cost around 4 to 5 times more than that of Synaptics’ sensor.

Meanwhile, Kuo also indicated in his report that the Galaxy S9 could also come with a more advanced iris scanner and an upgraded dual-camera module. Kuo noted that these improved features would be considered as the new selling points of the next flagship in the Galaxy S-branded series.

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It’s too early to tell if Kuo’s predictions are correct. For now, Samsung is focused on preparing for the launch of the Galaxy Note 8. There are high expectations for the upcoming phablet considering what happened to the problematic Galaxy Note 7 last year. Based on the leaks though, the Android powerhouse could be the best flagship killer this year.

The Note 8, which is set to be announced on Aug. 23, will reportedly feature a 6.3-inch dual-edge curved display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 or the Exynos 8895 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB internal memory, a 3,300 mAh battery, USB-C port and many more. The device is rumored to come in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Maple Gold and Deep Sea Blue color options.

The handset will arrive in South Korea on Sept. 15, and it is expected to launch in the U.S. on the same day.