Recent Samsung flagship smartphones have an Achilles heel – slow in-display fingerprint scanners. However, a new leak suggests that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series will address that with a new, bigger fingerprint scanner.
Samsung remains the only major smartphone manufacturer to opt for ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanners for its flagships, while the rest of the Android camp ship with optical scanners.
In theory, these are supposed to be a lot more secure and easier to use with dirty or wet fingers. However, Samsung’s implementation has tended to be slow and sometimes inaccurate.
In a recent interview (video below), Ross Young – a notable supply chain commentator – spoke about how that may change with the upcoming Note 20 series.
According to Young, the Galaxy Note 20 series will opt for a new and significantly larger ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, which should help in improving the reading speeds and accuracy.
Register two fingers at once
This is likely to be the Qualcomm 3D Sonic Max ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner that was unveiled late last year.
It covers an area of 20mm x 30mm, making it one of the biggest in-display scanners commercially available. In fact, it is so big that users will be able to register two fingers at once for added security. It’s about 17x bigger than the previous generation scanner.
This shift to bigger and better scanners is needed. Most of the current in-display fingerprint scanners seen on the market implement Goodix’s optical scanners, which tend to be faster and more accurate.
Interestingly, the Galaxy A71 5G launched in China in April was the first Samsung device to sport a Goodix scanner, which has become an industry-standard now. It could be a sign that Samsung is actually considering optical fingerprint scanners for its mid-rangers, as it is often known to experiment with upcoming technologies on its A series of smartphones.
It’s worth taking this report with a pinch of salt, as it’s likely Samsung is looking at various finger scanning technologies for the Galaxy Note 20, and the launch is still several months off.
However, Young has previously leaked design and spec details of the Fold 2, as well as display specifications of the Note 20, suggesting they are somewhat in the know.
We expect the Galaxy Note 20 launch to take place in August, although it may be delayed with the ongoing global pandemic causing issues throughout the supply chain.
