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submitted 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) by fididosooe@lemmy.ca to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world

I had two Samsung flagship phones, one (S20FE) had an optical fingerprint reader and the other (S22) had an ultrasonic one. Both of them somewhat regularly failed to read my finger, were slower than a fingerprint reader on the power button and are more expensive/complex to build. They won't work with cheap 3rd party screen replacements and some screen protectors as well.

Meanwhile my $90 Android phone has a fingerprint reader on the power button. It never fails and I never have to perfectly place my finger on the sensor area to get it to work. It just seems like the perfect place to put a fingerprint sensor, so why do phone manufacturers keep using in-display fingerprint readers over the cheaper alternative?

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[-] SomeGuy69@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

It's much better to reach. I'll never buy a phone again without finger print reader below the screen. On my S10 it's also very reliable. It works 95 of 100 times and those 5 times my finger was just weird on the screen and not centered.

[-] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 1 points 7 minutes ago

I will admit when I went to the Dark Side I was shocked by how much I like Face ID. I do miss having the in-screen fingerprint reader when I’m wearing a mask, SOMETIMES, but even that has improved in the time I’ve owned an iPhone.

But yeah, on my OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition and OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition (damn I loved those phones so much) the in-screen reader was excellent.

[-] kraftpudding@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago

Ok, so how does this work with phone cases?

[-] fididosooe@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 hours ago

My phone's case has a cutout for the power button.

[-] kraftpudding@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

But wouldn't that let water and dirt inside the case, just like the camera cutouts? I already hate those

[-] Voltage@sh.itjust.works 18 points 8 hours ago

Optimal fingerprint reader placement is on the back of the phone. You can just pick it up slide your finger on it and boom on to the home screen. Just want to see the time? Just press the power button and see the lockscreen.

[-] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 5 points 4 hours ago

I'm mixed on this. I have had the S9 for 6ish years, since launch. I love that it's on the back. except having to pick it up to unlock it lol. so 80% of the time it's amazing, which I guess is good enough.

also, pro tip, add multiple finger prints, both thumbs, and index, etc. so you can unlock it in multiple grips and don't need a single finger available to get in.

[-] SolOrion@sh.itjust.works 7 points 6 hours ago

Agreed completely. I have an S23 rn, but my previous phone was a mid-tier android with a fingerprint reader on the back. My natural resting grip on my phone would just unlock the thing. It was amazing. My current phone is a clear upgrade in every way except the fingerprint reader. My new one has it in the screen and I fuckin hate it.

[-] Maalus@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

My under the screen fingerprint sensor allows me to take out my phone from my pocket already unlocked. No button presses, no fiddling with finger placement on the back, it just works and is fastest.

[-] davidagain@lemmy.world 6 points 7 hours ago

I deduce that your phone never randomly locks while you're using it as a satnav. Lucky you.

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 8 points 8 hours ago

My Pixel 7 has the fingerprint reader behind the screen and it's awful. Unless you've got the greasiest fingers of anyone who ever lived, it fails to log you in.

Instead the face recognition kicks in, and then fails when you try to make a payment, asking for your fingerprint again.

It's fucking aggravating.

My crappy old Huawei thing has a separate panel for fingerprints and it never failed to work.

[-] independantiste@sh.itjust.works 1 points 23 minutes ago

The pixels from 6 to 8 use an optical fingerprint scanner, and optical scanners almost universally suck, because they use a tiny camera to see your finger through the display on your phone. Most phones including the pixel 9's include an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, which is more reliable, faster, doesn't flashbang you in the dark, and has the potential to be much bigger (think lower half of the phone is the fingerprint scanner).

I haven't had trouble with under display fingerprint scanners since I had my S23 (ultrasonjc), but my previous has an optical one and it was the worst thing I'd used.

[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 7 points 7 hours ago

They said the same about the 6 but honestly it works pretty well for me most of the time.

Sorry, I have God fingers I guess. blessed by the finger maiden.

[-] WhyFlip@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

The fingerprint readers on the Pixel 6, 7, and 8 all fucking suck.

[-] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 27 points 12 hours ago

I don't know but I prefer fp sensors on the back of the phone because my fingerprint is also up there naturally.

[-] eronth@lemmy.world 10 points 10 hours ago

Yes! I'm so sad they've moved away from this. I could pull out my phone AND unlock it in the same grab.

[-] corroded@lemmy.world 4 points 10 hours ago

I can't find a decent screen protector for my Galaxy S23, no matter how I try, and it's all due to the damned in-display fingerprint reader. Any adhesive-style screen protector has an open area for the fingerprint reader, and it's either a different material or a different thickness; they all look like shit. I've tried the screen protectors that use a UV-cured adhesive, and they're messy, difficult to apply properly, and generally a pain in the ass.

I've relegated myself to not using a screen protector at all, but considering my pocket lint scratches my screen, it sucks.

[-] FleetingTit@feddit.org 5 points 9 hours ago

I would hate that so much. The power button is for turning the screen off!

[-] amorpheus@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago
[-] Stoposto@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago

I don't understand why "FaceID" isn't more of a stardard on Android. I remember people online complaining when Apple got rid of TouchID on their phones, yet anyone who use FaceID quickly forget that fingerprint skanners are a thing. It works so fast and you don't have to complain about where a sensor might be on a device, if you can see the screen the screen the device is unlocked.

[-] BaroqueInMind@lemmy.one 0 points 52 minutes ago* (last edited 51 minutes ago)

Because you could unlock anyone's phone without their consent with just a photograph of their face and some easy to do depth trickery

[-] Stoposto@lemmy.world 1 points 34 minutes ago

Ah like in the movies!? I saw a movie where they got someone's pass code by watching them type it from a satalite, trough a windows 😅

It's not how any of those work.

[-] BaroqueInMind@lemmy.one 1 points 24 minutes ago* (last edited 19 minutes ago)

Try reading one of these some time instead of being a pretentious dumbass dipshit:

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/phone-face-unlock-photo,news-28969.html

https://www.androidauthority.com/face-unlock-photo-smartphones-940871/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2023/05/19/many-android-phones-can-be-unlocked-with-a-photo/

To bypass FaceID depth check you simply glue a photo close to a cheap foam mannequin head and block the front-facing LIDAR

[-] Stoposto@lemmy.world 1 points 16 minutes ago

Fair point, however None of those are FaceID by Apple, all links are Android in either title/link or subtitle on the page. You did answer by question: why people don't use face unlock on Android is they are horribly implemented vs FaceID on iPhones, so I will apologize for being pretentious!

[-] BaroqueInMind@lemmy.one 1 points 14 minutes ago* (last edited 10 minutes ago)

Excellent and classy rebuke, looks like I'm the dumbass dipshit now.

[-] xigoi@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

The unlocking flow is slower. With the fingerprint scanner, I just put my finger on the screen and go. With face recognition, I have to turn on the screen, wait for it to pick me up, then swipe to unlock.

[-] Stoposto@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

That might be an android flow, not ios. On my iPhone I pick up th phone and it turns on screens by itself and unlock instantly

[-] jbk@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 7 hours ago

Large iPhone notches are kinda ugly compared to the simpler notches in most other Android phones. Also, maybe there's tons of patents by Apple. Could be why I don't think I've ever heard of an Android phone that does more than a simple 2D facial scan with the normal camera

[-] Stoposto@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

My friend got an nudged android and it seems very bad implemented where it covers content in many apps and it had no functionality like it does on iPhone. On iPhone it's part of the notification system showing you info from other apps, for an example the timer app shows the time while cooking in nudge while I am on lemmy. Yes on a side by side screenshot it seems alot worse than using my old Motorola next to my IPhone, the "dead pixel" nudge on Android seem to annoy people alot more

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago

It became a big thing on android just before covid happened. Unfortunately, masks completely confused it.

I currently have both active on my phone, it's about 50/50 which unlocks it first. I tend to unlock my phone as I bring it out of my pocket via fingerprint. If that fails, then face ID kicks in.

[-] Stoposto@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

Apple quickly implemented a Mask FaceID scan so you could unlock with mask, I used that or just swiped my watch for payments etc. I did see quite a few android friends go back to fingerprint I remember

[-] paperplane@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

It took them a few years, if I remember right, though they did add the unlock-with-watch pretty early.

[-] Stoposto@lemmy.world 1 points 14 minutes ago

I looked it up and you are totally right, it was in 2022 which wouldn't have been as fast as I remembered/wrote before!

[-] pycorax@lemmy.world 10 points 13 hours ago

The fingerprint sensor on the power button isn't the main reason why I got my Fold 6 but it's such a small thing that sweetens the deal a lot. I absolutely detest screen based fingerprint readers.

[-] Ashiette@lemmy.world 38 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

I think the answer might be 'because of marketing'.

For me, I dislike both the power button AND the screen fingerprint reader. The power button because I like to access my lockscreen and not to be catapulted in the last app I was using ; the screen reader because it's messy and oftentimes doesn't work correctly. My newborn has been able to unlock my phone, multiple times...

What I really miss was the fingerprint reader on the back of the device. It was convenient, fast, precise and let me access the lock screen.

[-] Nightsoul@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

Why not just tap the screen of your phone to see just the lock screen? It's especially convenient my phone is sitting on my desk, just double tap

[-] DontTreadOnBigfoot@lemmy.world 13 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

Yep, the pixel 4a was my favorite phone in recent history, largely because of the rear mounted fingerprint sensor.

[-] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 6 points 15 hours ago

I had a 3a and thought I loved the rear reader, but apparently I have my phone flat on a desk or in a stand often enough that I really do prefer the front reader

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[-] TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone 76 points 21 hours ago

I miss when it was on the back, right around where you put your finger when you pick up the phone.

The underscreen one is a major downgrade and I gotta fumble with it a few times to get it to work, usually.

[-] RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 14 hours ago

My underscreen one is excellent and works 99% of the time. That still leaves it significantly worse than rear fingerprint sensor. RIP the best unlock method.

[-] MeatsOfRage@lemmy.world 7 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

Biggest thing I miss about the old Pixels was this because you could swipe it to pull the notifications bar down. It worked system wide so you could during a game or video just pop it down to check time or settings and just flick it away without moving your hand to the top of the phone.

[-] Klaymore@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 hours ago

It's great. I also downloaded DigiLux so I can swipe left and right to change brightness as well.

[-] TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 12 hours ago

Yo whaaat? I can still do that on my Note 20 ultra. That's part of my workflow

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[-] mp3@lemmy.ca 15 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

I had a power button fingerprint reader in the past (Moto G7 Plus) and it wasn't great as I'm left-handed. My thumb ends up on the opposite side of the screen, so I had to use my index which isn't ideal.

[-] foggy@lemmy.world 48 points 22 hours ago

The S9 had the fingerprint reader centered on the back. It was awesome.

[-] Canadian_Cabinet@lemmy.ca 12 points 19 hours ago

As did the Pixel 2. Still miss the back scanner

[-] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

Nexus 6P / 5X all the way to Pixel 5 had it.

While I miss the rear scanner, I have had no issues with the under-display type in the 6/7/8. I see people online every time this topic comes up, screaming that it's awful, but... cannot reproduce, ticket closed.

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[-] SatyrSack@lemmy.one 12 points 19 hours ago

Wow, that is the opposite of my experience. I have only had problems with the power button fingerprint readers. My last three phones have used in-display readers, and that has been so much more reliable for me.

I do still use my Pixel Tablet, which uses a power button fingerprint reader for some reason, and I am constantly fighting with it.

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this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2024
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