Samsung's existing Galaxy S8 series and the Galaxy Note 8 are undoubtedly some of the best Android smartphones to hit the markets of late. But, to better compete against Apple's radically designed iPhone X, the South Korean giant still apparently needed something special, which, tech enthusiasts around the world believe, could be the upcoming Galaxy S9 with enhanced features.
One of the key Galaxy S9 features that Samsung seems to be betting on is an improved iris scanner, according to the Korea Herald, which also said that the company was also refining the software behind the feature to make its response time faster than the existing version.
An industry source familiar with the matter told the publication that the iris scanner in the Galaxy S9 will have an improved camera lens and functions to help it better recognise users' eyes.
"The iris lens will be improved to 3-megapixels from 2-megapixels of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 to capture clearer images. The scanner will better recognize users' irises even when they wear eyeglasses, move their eyeballs or are in a too dark or too light environment," the source told the Korea Herald.
Samsung is also said to be planning to bring the iris scanner into its budget smartphones as well by the end of 2018 or early 2019. Currently, only the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 feature iris scanners.
"Iris scanner is the safest biometric authentication (among iris, fingerprint and face recognition) and we will continue to improve the system for upcoming smartphones for safer banking transactions," a Samsung spokesperson told the publication, without making any reference to the Galaxy S9.
Last month, South Korea's ET News also reported that Samsung was doubling down on the iris scanning and face scanning technologies on the Galaxy S9 by improving the software for "faster" and "more accurate" user experience.
According to ongoing rumours, the Samsung Galaxy S9 will feature a 5.8-inch display and 4 GB of RAM while the Galaxy S9+ will feature a 6.2-inch screen and 6 GB of RAM. The devices are also likely to sport a Snapdragon 845 processor, a pressure-sensitive Home button, a Bixby AI button, Android 8.0 Oreo and the 3.5mm audio jack.
