Rumors surfaced in October last year suggesting that Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which is expected to be launched later this year, could be the company's first flagship smartphone to feature an under-display fingerprint sensor.
However, if a new report from South Korea is to be believed, Samsung will still not be ready with that solution for the next-generation Galaxy Note handset.
South Korean publication The Bell reported on Tuesday that Samsung itself had told its component suppliers that the Galaxy Note 9 would continue to carry the fingerprint sensor on its back like the predecessor model.
According to the report, the project that was supposed to bring the under-display fingerprint technology to the Galaxy Note 8 successor was recently stopped due to technical difficulties.
All isn't lost
The publication also said Samsung hasn't entirely given up on the under-display fingerprint sensor technology. Although the company has already been rumored to be working on an optical fingerprint recognition technology with several suppliers, some industry observers still believe Samsung won't be able to introduce it on a device until at least 2019.
In its quest to develop an under-display fingerprint sensor, Samsung reportedly looked into multiple technologies, including ultrasound, capacitive and optical. Samsung was also said to be working with several other companies like Qualcomm, Taiwanese company IGES Tech and Beyond Eyes to produce such a sensor.
At a time when Samsung has been struggling to incorporate the under-display fingerprint sensor into its smartphones, Vivo has already managed to launch Vivo X20 Plus UD, which is touted to be the world's first smartphone with an under-display fingerprint sensor. By doing so, Vivo managed to outpace both Apple and Samsung in launching one of the most anticipated smartphone features in recent times.
What else to expect?
As for other rumored details of the Galaxy Note 9, the device is expected to be a more refined version of the Galaxy Note 8. The phone will likely retain the Infinity Display while the S Pen stylus could receive some significant enhancements.
The phone is also expected to feature an improved camera while some analysts believe the Galaxy Note 9 will feature the upcoming Snapdragon 845 CPU, at least in some regions.
As for its release, the Galaxy Note 9 could hit stores in early or mid-August of 2018, a little earlier than the August 23 launch of the Galaxy Note 8 in 2017.
