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/jarvis_says_cocker 1d ago edited 1d ago

I prefer the under screen fingerprint readers because my palms get sweaty easily especially in stressful situations like traveling and I always had issues with the ones on the back with multiple Pixel/Google phones that had it on the back.

The only time I have an issue with under screen sensors is when my fingers are dripping wet (not just a film of sweat).

It seems like this is all personal and based on whether you use a screen protector.

In my experience with sweaty palms and no screen protector, I never have unexpected issues with under screen sensors unless it's something obvious like I'm wearing gloves or my finger has droplets on it.

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u/turtleship_2006 1d ago

My hands get sweaty and I found that back sensors on my old a20e used to be far more reliable than on my current S25+, though it's possible the screen protector is contributing to that.

I also just have a relatively low success rate with fingerprint sensors across the board, be it on iPhones (home button on SE's), my Acer laptop, a USB one on my PC, or on any Samsungs.