A report from the Korean media that seems to have flown under the radar has indicated that the Galaxy S11's in-display fingerprint sensor would be more convenient to use thanks to a larger sensing area for detecting fingerprints. According to The Elec, the ‘Active Area Dimension' (AAD) for the in-display fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S11 will measure 64 square millimeters while the Galaxy S10's (and the Note 10's) measures 36 square millimeters. It's unclear just how accurate those numbers are, but the increase in sensing area would certainly be a welcome improvement.
Right now, fingerprint technology on smartphones isn't perfect. In their pursuit for smartphones with minimal bezels around the display, manufacturers opted for rear-facing physical fingerprint readers, and the one point of contention there was the fact that you had to pick a device up in order to scan their fingerprint. In-display fingerprint sensors solved that dilemma, but without any physical boundaries to guide the user, in-display sensors also have a learning curve and require far more precision from the user compared to physical fingerprint readers.
And while you can't add physical boundaries to in-display sensors, having a larger sensing area is the next best thing, which means the fingerprint sensor could be one of the Galaxy S11's biggest highlights. Of course, nothing is official at the moment. The Galaxy S11 is at least six months away at this time, and even if the reports are correct, a lot could change as development on the device proceeds further. That includes aspects such as storage options, which could spoil consumers for choice as we had exclusively reported last month.
What do you think? Would an in-display fingerprint sensor that's more convenient to use make you consider the Galaxy S11, or is it something you don't think is consequential enough to be a deciding factor? Would something like Apple's Face ID be more enticing in your eyes, or would you like to see the iris sensor make a return? Let us know in the comments!
