Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 is rumored to feature an all-screen front with no physical home button. It means the home functionality and fingerprint sensor will be embedded in the display itself. Just when the rumor mill was wondering what optical fingerprint sensor Samsung will use in the Galaxy S8, the Korean company’s manufacturing partner Synaptics has unveiled a sensor of its own.
Synaptics FS9100 is waterproof and scratchproof
The optical fingerprint sensor can be placed under the glass display. It also helps eliminate the need for bezels, which means you get a bigger display in the same amount of space. Synaptics’ sensor is precisely what Samsung has been reportedly trying to achieve with the Galaxy S8. Called the Natural ID FS9100, the sensor can be placed under the glass of a smartphone or tablet’s display.
Synaptics claims that its sensor is waterproof and scratchproof. The FS9100 uses little battery power, and can differentiate between real and fake fingers. It will enhance security because fake fingers have been a real issue with previous generations of optical fingerprint sensors.
The new scanner can be placed under up to 1mm of the cover glass, including curved 2.5D glass, and still detect fingerprints accurately. Since the scanner will be placed under the glass, it should be more durable. It’s not yet clear how it will perform when the glass above it gets scratches.
Will Samsung use Synaptics sensor in Galaxy S8
Whether Synaptics sensor will make it into the Galaxy S8 will depend on timing. The FS9100 is scheduled to enter mass production in the second quarter of 2017. Samsung traditionally unveils its new Galaxy S devices at the Mobile World Congress and launches them in March. However, there have been reports indicating that the Galaxy S8 release could be pushed back to April. Samsung would conduct more rigorous testing of the S8 to avoid a Galaxy Note 7-like disaster.
The Galaxy S8 is rumored to be available in two different screen sizes: 5.7-inch and 6.2-inch. The bigger of the two is aimed at Galaxy Note 7 users. According to Bloomberg, though the new phones will have bigger displays, their sizes would be similar to the 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 and 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge, thanks to the bezel-less display.
Galaxy S8 to ditch the headphone jack
The Galaxy S8 may not feature a 3.5mm headphone jack, just like the iPhone 7. Supply chain sources revealed that the traditional headphone jack will be replaced by a USB-C port that you can use for charging as well as headphone use. Getting rid of the headphone jack could free up some space that can be used to make the phone slimmer or increase the battery size.
Samsung’s next-gen flagship smartphone is expected to feature a 10nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895 processor, a 4200mAh battery, fast-charging technology, 6GB RAM, and up to 256GB of built-in storage.
