One of my favorite aspects of folding phones is the return of the fingerprint sensors built directly into the power button. This is objectively the ideal design, for reasons I assume I don’t have to explain.
Lately, however, the novelty of folding phones is wearing off and I’m starting to think I’d just like something lighter and sleeker. Are there any recommendations for a phone with a power-button sensor that still has good specs and cameras?
Edit: for the purposes of this post, physical sensors on the back of the phone also count, since they can wake the phone and unlock it simultaneously.
And to clarify (I thought this was a thing everyone just inherently agreed on), the benefits of physical sensors are:
- accuracy. A physical sensors will always be more accurate (and thus have fewer issues) because it doesn’t have to work THROUGH the screen. This has been improved a lot with newer technologies like ultrasonic readers, but it is literally impossible to be better than the same technology utilized without a screen in the way.
- wake/unlock in one motion. Since it’s also a button, it can wake the phone and unlock it in one motion, rather than 2 separate ones. Again, newer tech has sort of worked around this with things like lift to wake or just having the sensor area ALWAYS scanning so you can unlock it from sleep regardless, but these are clunky software implementations that rely on your phone constantly actively trying to to figure out whether you’re doing the thing or not, so it again can’t be as efficient as just a normal button. Battery impact for these is also pretty minimal for the most part, but it’s still not zero.
- tactility. You can feel the button, and manufacturers can put it where your hand naturally rests, meaning that you can unlock the phone BEFORE you have even taken it out of your pocket.
- cost. Physical sensors are hella cheap y’all. The technology to read the ridges on your finger through a sheet of plastic and glass is (turns out) kind of expensive. We’re all being forced to pay for this dumb gimmick.
- durability. Screens get scratched and dinged up, which compromises the sensors ability to read. Physical sensors on the other hand are basically the most durable part of the phone. Again, mostly a non issue on newer phones, but it’s yet another thing manufacturers have had to dump money into working around (and thus charging you more for).
- not impacted by screen protectors, rain on the screen, etc.
under screen fingerprint readers (USFR) have basically no accuracy problems? I find that mine rarely struggles to read my fingerprint, and the one on my Ipad (on the power button) sometimes doesn’t register the first time either.
the USFR DON’T need to scan all the time, they can just wake when YOU TOUCH THE SCREEN! It’s basically the same for ALL kinds of fingerprint readers, so it’s a non-issue.
well, I concede that point
cost comes down with scale. Also phones are ridiculously expensive nowadays, the cost of the sensor doesn’t have a huge impact on that.
fingerprint readers can scratch as easily as the screen. People are much more likely to make sure the screen does not get damaged than the finger print reader.
traditional finger print readers struggle when wet as well. Also your phone is basically unusable anyways, when it’s wet.
I mean it comes down to preference, but I like the scanner to be under the screen. All the things you listed really speak against finger print scanners in general, why not use Face ID?
For the first two, based on personal experience:
Anecdotally, my old back-mounted LG fingerprint scanner has never been wrong (when dry of course), but my Pixel needs a re-scan 30% of the time.
My phone requires a tap to wake the screen before the fingerprint reader will accept any input at all, unless I decide to burn battery and turn on AOD.
E: My current phone uses an optical sensor and, from what I understand, ultrasonics are infinitely better