‘Great Secret Features’ and ‘Nasty Surprises’ are my regular columns investigating the best features / biggest problems hidden behind the headlines.
Leaked by Ice Universe, arguably the industry’s top Samsung insider right now, we learn the Galaxy S10 will no longer try to compete with the iPhone’s popular Face ID system. In fact, Samsung looks to be giving up on facial recognition completely.
“The S10 cancels the iris sensor,” states Ice Universe. Why? Because Samsung believes “the ultrasonic fingerprint [sensor] is enough to replace it.”
Justifying this move, Ice Universe explains that the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S10 is unlike any in-display fingerprint reader we have seen before. It is both “faster and has a larger recognition area” with up to 30% of the screen responding to a user’s fingerprint.
This is indeed significant. Since in-display readers have no physical edges they cannot be opened with a combination of feeling and muscle memory. But being able to just touch anywhere on the bottom third of the Galaxy S10 display to unlock the phone would change that.
Still, this doesn’t fully replace an iris scanner.
Much like Apple’s decision to scrap Touch ID on the iPhone and iPad ranges, which leaves users with times when fingerprint unlocking would be more convenient (for example, peaking at your phone in a meeting or when wearing sunglasses), scrapping the Galaxy S10’s iris recognition causes problems (such as when wearing gloves).
Moreover, Samsung’s decision to support both technologies was a distinct selling point for Galaxy phones over iPhones. And with reports previously suggesting Samsung was on the verge of a technological breakthrough which would’ve seen it match the quality of Face ID, it is a shame to see the company give owners less choice.
So why is Samsung doing it?
The decision is believed to be based on the company’s desire to give the Galaxy S10 a virtually bezel-less display. Chinese manufacturers like Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Lenovo have all achieved this through various design innovations. And with Samsung’s latest financial results showing it losing out to Chinese rivals, in particular, the company needs to compete head-on.
This is not the Galaxy S10’s only compromise either.
Samsung is also widely expected to remove the headphone jack from the Galaxy S10 to accommodate all its technological innovations. Most rivals have already done this, but Samsung has long been praised for its stubbornness and even used this as a marketing point.
So yes, the Galaxy S10 does look like arguably the most radical upgrade in Samsung’s smartphone history. But this 10th-anniversary flagship will also come with some controversial compromises as part of the deal…
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