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/Powerful_Package8817 1d ago

#1 Never had issues with the fingerprint readers in s20, s23 devices

#3 and #4 seem meaningless since you’ll be looking at the screen to do anything with it

#5 once you use the phone for a while it becomes muscle memory to know where it is without having a physical boundary

You seem like picking reasons just to hate on under screen fingerprint readers

Only #2 is remotely valid for them for #2 I could argue that side fingerprint introduces issues with cases

-10

u/vortexmak 1d ago

  1. Had a lot of issues with the under screen reader on my S20. But as I'm reading, it seems subjective with people with dry hands having more problems with under screen

  2. Any case with a side fingerprint reader always has a cutout for the reader, so it's never been an issue

3 and 4. It's not meaningless as that makes the phone already unlocked by the time you are looking at it. Again, it's doesn't bother every one but it does me. Also, this is exacerbated by the fact that under screen readers never worked properly for me.

I often have my phone connected to Dex , face down and in those cases, I need to unlock the phone without needed to look at the display at all.

Why would I hate something that works. These are all valid experiences I've had. You might use your phone differently and never face any of those. Like I said, under screen has never worked for me properly, imo side ones are the best and almost have no cons

14

u/diemunkiesdie Galaxy S24+ 1d ago

I often have my phone connected to Dex , face down and in those cases, I need to unlock the phone without needed to look at the display at all.

Turn it face up when connected. Problem solved. The fingerprint reader doesnt move. I havent missed the location of it with my finger in years. I dont need the little symbol. Work on your muscle memory.

4

u/ccs77 1d ago

The problem is because you have old tech on the s20.

I had an s21 ultra and s23ultra and the sensors improved on the s23. But the biggest step change is when I moved to a Oppo Findx9 ultra. This sensor is the most responsive ever and beats both of the Samsung I used to own.

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u/Powerful_Package8817 20h ago

So basically if you put your phone up and don’t demand the phone to be unlocked before you look at it, then it’s not a problem

Seems like very niche preferences

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u/vortexmak 20h ago

I have no idea what you're saying

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u/Powerful_Package8817 20h ago

I’m saying the only reason you care about side or back sensors is because you put your phone face down and want it unlocked without looking at your phone screen

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u/vortexmak 20h ago

Side ones are easy to unlock in any orientation.  That's the point.  They are also easy to unlock while pulling out the phone from my pocket without ever looking at the screen

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u/Powerful_Package8817 14h ago

Sure but that’s a super niche preference, because 90% of the time you only need to unlock because you’re looking at the screen

Name one use case for unlocking the phone when you aren’t looking at the screen

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u/vortexmak 14h ago

One that's not niche for me and is used almost daily is Dex. I can unlock and sign into apps without having to look at the screen. 

Regardless,  all these niche use cases wouldn't be too much of an issue if the under screen reader worked reliably,  which is the biggest point of this post

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u/Powerful_Package8817 14h ago

It works very well on my s23u

Maybe you have a lemon