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Report: Galaxy S9 fingerprint scanner won't be in the screen

But rumor says the Note 9 might get the forward-looking feature.

Gordon Gottsegen CNET contributor
Gordon Gottsegen is a tech writer who has experience working at publications like Wired. He loves testing out new gadgets and complaining about them. He is the ghost of all failed Kickstarters.
Gordon Gottsegen
2 min read
Josh Miller/CNET

If you're hoping for a fancy new fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S9, early rumors will let you down.

Samsung has reportedly ditched plans to incorporate an integrated in-display fingerprint sensor in the Galaxy S9, according to South Korean news outlet The Investor.

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That fingerprint scanner is a little too close for comfort to the camera.

Josh Miller/CNET

Although we praised the Galaxy S8 for its stunning screen and solid performance, our biggest gripe was the inconvenient placement of its fingerprint sensor to the side of the camera, which we kept touching instead of the hit-or-miss sensor. 

Perplexingly, the Galaxy Note 8 followed with the exact same design. If this rumor's true, Samsung will make the rear-sensor placement a trend.

Previous rumors suggested that the Galaxy S8 may include a fingerprint sensor as part of the display -- not on the screen glass, but in the layers below. That clearly didn't happen, but the reports that Samsung has been working on this technology, persist. 

According to The Investor, Samsung has been thinking about putting in-display sensors into its phones for the past few years, but apparently keeps running into technical difficulties. That being said, the report claims that Samsung may try to bring the feature to the next Galaxy Note phone, the Note 9.

Watch this: Samsung Galaxy S8: The good, the bad, the beautiful

Apple, one of Samsung's biggest competitors, has given up on fingerprint scanning entirely in the new iPhone X. The iPhone uses advanced facial recognition and a passcode for security. An industry source told The Investor that too many of Samsung's services and platforms use the fingerprint sensor to get rid of it. With Apple betting on Face ID and Samsung potentially sticking with fingerprints, the world's two biggest phonemakers may bring their battle to a new front: your biometrics.

Samsung declined to comment on this story.

This is what the Galaxy S8 looks like under a macro lens

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