Next year's Samsung Galaxy Note9 is now predicted to sport a feature that was mentioned a lot in early rumors regarding both its predecessor, the Note8, as well as Apple's iPhone X. We're talking about a fingerprint sensor that sits under the display. Such an optical sensor is likely to appear in the Note9 according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a legendary purveyor of mostly Apple-related mumblings.
If this pans out, the unlocking procedure will probably go something like this: you simply place your finger onto a specific part of the handset's screen, and that's it. Both Samsung and Apple have tried to get this into products shipping in 2017, but both failed. Thus, we are currently left with the awkward off-center position of the scanner on the back of the Note8, and the complete lack of a fingerprint authentication method on the iPhone X.
For 2018, Samsung will apparently use a technology that allows the AMOLED screen to double as a light source for the sensor, as this should result in better battery life. BeyondEyes and Samsung LSI are the two suppliers that have already shipped part samples to Samsung Electronics, according to Kuo. One of them will probably end up winning the contract - if not, that could be Egis, the firm that right now supplies the standard fingerprint sensors for the Galaxy phones.
