Samsung to launch three Galaxy S10 variants with in-screen fingerprint sensors: Report

Samsung is expected to launch its next flagship, the Galaxy S10 in February. Till now, all the leaks surrounding the smartphone have mentioned that the South Korean giant will unveil only two smartphones, like it has been doing since Galaxy S6. A new report has now claimed that Samsung will launch three S-series devices -- two being the high-end models and a third low-cost variant. 

The news comes at a time when its rival Apple is reportedly gearing up to launch three iPhones this year -- two with OLED display and one with an LCD panel. Citing industry sources, The Investor reported, “The two high-end Galaxy S models will come fitted with an ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint scanner while the other one will house an optical fingerprint sensor beneath the screen. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor for the S10 lineup will be exclusively supplied by US chipmaker Qualcomm. The ultrasonic fingerprint technology makes a 3D mapped fingerprint instead of a flat image which is created by an optical scanner. 

This makes the ultrasonic scanner costlier as well as more accurate than the optical ones and the scanning is not affected by grease, sweat or light. The report said that Samsung planned to implement optical in-screen fingerprint sensors developed by Synaptics for its Galaxy S8 last year but the technology half baked. “For market leaders like Samsung and Apple, it is too risky to deploy a technology that is not ready for implementation since the technical immaturity can hurt their brand image,” an industry watcher was quoted as saying.