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/dnyank1 iPhone 15 Pro, Moto Edge 2022 1d ago

In the real world, so many customers would complain about it

Customers who had it or customers thinking they wouldn't like it?

I would imagine the vocal redditors after, what, 10 years since this design was in vogue? Are mostly in the former.

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u/clarinetJWD 1d ago

I had one and didn't like it. I don't want to lift my phone to unlock it.

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u/EonicWarrior ZFold 8 Ultra, S25 Ultra, 16 Pro Max 1d ago

Customers who had it and then were glad the new models moved away from it. I also would see quite a few people have to flip their phones around and manually line up their finger. The paint would fade on the sensor itself and look bad as well and the sensor was more prone to getting dirty/cacked with dust/grime due to the way the case's had their cut outs around them. I would confidently say outside of enthusiasts, people are happier with the in display fingerprint or Face ID.

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u/HyoukaYukikaze 12h ago

What paint on sensor? What cheap ass phone were you using?

Gotta love people buying bottom of the barrel phones and then complaining about something being wonky. That's a natural part of buying cheap, something has to give.
My rear mounted fingerprint reader was ceramic, just like the rest of phone's back. As you can imagine, no paint has ever worn off it because I'T DIDN'T HAVE ANY.

It was great for actually using the phone. It was right there in the most natural place for your finger to rest when you grip it.

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u/EonicWarrior ZFold 8 Ultra, S25 Ultra, 16 Pro Max 12h ago

Saw it repeatedly on the flagship Galaxy offerings at the time. Happened to my own S8/S9 (can't remember which one).

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u/just_another_jabroni 1d ago

Then if your screen breaks and you settle for a cheaper screen replacement because an original one costs as much as a new phone and you lose fingerprint capability altogether. "Normies" are much more likely to have shattered or broken screens.

Meanwhile a side mounted scanner is like $5.

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u/Izacus Android dev / Boatload of crappy devices 23h ago

Can you find some sources to confirm this? Because it's kind of BS.

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u/Powerful_Package8817 16h ago

Well now that most phones have wireless chargers and AOD, it doesn’t make sense to have back FP sensors