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The Samsung Galaxy S10 may replace the iris scanner with an in-display fingerprint sensor

The Samsung Galaxy S10 may replace the iris scanner with an in-display fingerprint sensor

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Samsung
Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge

Samsung wants to add an in-display fingerprint scanner and 3D facial recognition to its Galaxy S10 flagship device, according to a Korean news report from The Bell.

The company has not requested that its suppliers make iris scanners for the new phone, the report says. Instead of scanning irises, the Galaxy S10 would use facial recognition, while an in-display fingerprint scanner would offer an easier way to unlock the phones. Samsung Galaxy smartphones currently have fingerprint scanners on the back, which are a mild convenience for people with smaller hands (or left-handers on a Galaxy S8) as phone sizes have continued to grow over the past few years.

Samsung trails behind Apple, which introduced 3D facial recognition last year on the iPhone X, so it’s understandably investing a lot to catch up. While a Face ID competitor feature did not come with the Galaxy S9, Samsung did introduce its version of Animoji with AR Emoji. (Apple followed up with a Memoji feature that’s coming to iOS 12 this fall.) Meanwhile, Samsung has partnered with Mantis Vision to co-develop an algorithm for 3D facial recognition.

The Bell also reports that the Galaxy S10 would have a 5.8-inch display, while the Galaxy S10 Plus would have a 6.2-inch display, which is in line with the current sizes of the S9 and S9 Plus. A report from Korean outlet the Electronic Times says that the Galaxy S10 will actually come in three models: two 5.8-inch models, and a 6.2-inch model. The main difference between the models is that the most basic one will have a single rear camera, the midtier one will have dual cameras, and the 6.2-inch model will have three rear cameras. Given the two differing reports, it’s best to take the rumors with a grain of salt.