After the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus launch at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) last February, Samsung followers are now tuned in to the company's next-generation premium phablet, the Galaxy Note 9. Earlier reports suggested that the device will be the first from Samsung to boast an in-display fingerprint reader technology, and it appears that everything is still on track to introduce the feature this year.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is expected to borrow most of the new contents of the Galaxy S9 smartphone, although the phablet will boast its own impressive features. One of these is the optical biometric reader embedded right under the OLED screen panel. With this, the entire display can be used to register the user's fingerprint and unlock the handset. According to the latest reports, the South Korean tech giant might be able to finalize the feature just in time for the Galaxy Note 9 launch later in 2018.
The scoop regarding the Galaxy Note 9's in-display fingerprint scanner came from a known tech tipster, Ice Universe. This person has proven himself as a reliable source of tech leaks over the years, as he was among the first few who correctly called the new all-screen design of the Galaxy Note 9, as well as the additional features of the Galaxy S9. This time around, Ice Universe predicts that the Galaxy Note 9 will have an under-screen fingerprint reader, suggesting that the technology is now ready for mass production.
Contrary to Ice Universe's claims, a previous report from the South Korean online publication The Investor stated that Samsung is still in the early stages of developing the in-display fingerprint reader. Moreover, KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi-Kuo mentioned in his latest notes to investors that the required components for this feature will only be developed after the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. If anything, the under-display scanner might be ready for the next year's flagship device, possibly the Samsung Galaxy S10.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is expected to be announced this August, the same month when the company unveiled the previous Galaxy Note models. Aside from an in-display fingerprint scanner, the Galaxy Note 9 is tipped to boast a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor with 6GB of RAM and a whopping 4,000mAh battery.
