According to an exclusive report from Sam Mobile, the Korean electronics giant will be replacing its swipe-based fingerprint sensor with a touch-based sensor in its next generation of flagship device. Citing unnamed "highly credible sources," Sam Mobile revealed that the new sensor is going to function the same as those sensors present on the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus. This therefore indicate that users now have to register an entire fingerprint and not just partially register it just like in the swipe-based sensor.
Current Samsung devices equipped with the fingerprint scanner include the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S5 Mini, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Tab S, Galaxy Note 4, and Galaxy Note Edge. Although Sam Mobile praised Samsung's implementation of the scanner, it noted that it is also somewhat "poorly designed."
"Samsung built it into the home button, which didn't provide sufficient surface area for the finger to slide over properly and resulted in errors, ultimately frustrating the users. The only trick to get it to work better was to register a finger in multiple angles, but many people don't know about this trick, and Samsung's fingerprint registering tutorial is terrible," the report says.
Going back to the new sensor, Sam Mobile says it heard that the sensor will remain at the home button. However, the home button itself got a few changes as it became bigger compared to the Galaxy S5 and Note 4, making it more flawless. Users also no longer have to be swipe their fingers on the sensor since all they have to do now is just place their finger on the home button and lift it off after.
Aside from this, users can still enjoy the following feature using the new sensor (according to Sam Mobile):
- Fingerprint Unlock: Verifies the user's identity and unlocks the device.
- Web sign-in: Allows users to sign into websites using fingerprints.
- Verify Samsung Account: Verifies the user's identity when purchasing content in Samsung services.
- Private Mode: It's not specifically a fingerprint-exclusive feature, but allows user to choose fingerprint as an unlock method.
- Pay with PayPal: Allows users to make quick and secure payments via their PayPal account using their registered fingerprints.
The new Samsung Galaxy S6 is expected to be unveiled during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. The rumors about Samsung's new flagship device came after it has been reported that the firm is embarking on a new project called "Project Zero." The name which is a first in the company indicates that it is creating the new device from "scratch" and on "an entirely new vision."
As for the specs, the device is believed to get a Quad HD (2560x1440) display, the new Android 5.0 Lollipop update, an Exynos 7420 SoC or a Snapdragon 810 chipset as processor, 3GB RAM, 32/64/128GB storage, 16/20 megapixel main camera and 5 megapixel front camera, and Broadcom's BCM4773 sensor chip.
Samsung has not yet confirmed these rumors.