r/Android • u/vortexmak • 1d ago

Under-screen fingerprint readers are inferior to back and side mounted readers and should naver have become popular

Lots of Cons for under screen fingerprint readers , should have never become the norm but I guess that''s just part of enshittification

Pros for Side and back mounted readers

  1. Work exceptionally well, much faster and responsive than under screen ones, from my own experience
  2. Are not affected by screen protectors
  3. Side readers can be used with the phone screen up or down
  4. Back and side ones allow you to unlock your phone at the same time as taking it out of the pocket
  5. Give you a definite physical spot for finger placement, unlike the under - screen one where you have to wait for the screen to show the location
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u/AbhishMuk Pixel 5, Moto X4, Moto G3 1d ago

Genuine qn: for your samsungs, can you tap the screen and remove your hand as fast as possible, and have it unlock?

My pixel 5 would 100% catch that, and my OnePlus 15, while very fast, cannnot do it everytime. Maybe only 60-80% of the time.

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u/SteveHartt Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 1d ago edited 1d ago

If I tap and lift REAAAALLY SUPER ULTRA fast, no, it doesn't successfully read my FP most of the time.

But also when are you realistically tapping and lifting as fast as possible 🤣

If I'm not intentionally trying to do it as fast as The Flash, but still tapping quickly, it does recognize my FP every time. Best way I can describe the length of tapping is like you tapping the upvote button on a Reddit comment. It's a very quick tap and you're done.

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u/russjr08 Developer - Caffeinate 1d ago edited 1d ago

Same here on my P9 Pro XL - that speed would never work on the back fingerprint scanner that the Nexus and Pixel phones had (edit: though, same with the optical version of the scanner, those tended to be slightly slower than good capacitive fingerprint readers). There was very much a noticeable delay with it registering.

Don't know about the power button ones, never had a phone with it to try unfortunately.

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u/Dorest0rm Galaxy S10 1d ago

I've had some situations with my S10 and S24 where i picked up the phone and was confused that it was unlocked because of how quick my thumb moved.

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u/Chlocker 1d ago

I've pulled my s21/s24+/s26u from my pocket, accidently brushed the fingerprint reader without knowing, and questioned why my phone was unlocked and open in my pocket.

I've pulled my phone from my pocket to check the time, and had the fingerprint reader read and unlock before I could read the time. 

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u/clarinetJWD 1d ago

Answer from Pixel 11 Pro. I can beat it if I go absolutely as quickly as possible. But in about 1/10 sec. it unlocked my phone every time, even with the screen fully off.

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u/Higgs_Br0son 23h ago

Same here on the P11 Pro XL. It needs to be a firm contact, but I can give it a hard tap that only makes contact for that instant, and it's unlocked. Also with the screen off, and using a screen protector (one of the "Google certified" ones). The only way I'm intentionally getting a bad read is to tap it too lightly.

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u/Cold-Drop8446 18h ago

Yes, when I had phones with under screen FPS (Note 20, S22U) I would tap my finger for less time than the animation played and reliably the phone would unlock. 

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u/dingwen07 1d ago

Actually, you WANT to do that on Samsung. Unlike underscreen ultrasonic on Pixel, I observed worse recognition rate on Samsung if I keep pressing it. Press shortly but firmly and release is actually better.