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dj1891

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 16, 2015
627
335
Northern Ireland
I've never had much luck with these things. Maybe its because I am a trademan and as such my fingers are often rough or dirty. Sure I've done all the usual, enroll different fingers, do the same finger several times but can't say it helps. I have tried Huawei and Samsung, Samsung are the worst. On my S10+ it works roughly 1 out of every 4 attempts. I really miss the bog standard finger print readers, never fail or let me down.
 

Septembersrain

Cancelled
Dec 14, 2013
4,347
5,451
I think in an age of masks, this is necessary. I never missed Touch ID after a week with my 11 Pro Max but once this COVID-19 came, I've been ever more grateful for the fingerprint scanner on my LG G8. Under glass fingerprint scanner might not be perfect, but it's something.
 
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ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,636
Indonesia
I've never had much luck with these things. Maybe its because I am a trademan and as such my fingers are often rough or dirty. Sure I've done all the usual, enroll different fingers, do the same finger several times but can't say it helps. I have tried Huawei and Samsung, Samsung are the worst. On my S10+ it works roughly 1 out of every 4 attempts. I really miss the bog standard finger print readers, never fail or let me down.
I agree.
Capacitive fingerprint sensors are still the gold standard. Huawei especially did an excellent job on theirs, at least on the View 10 that I had. It's super fast and never missed a beat.

For optical sensors, by default, they are already slower than capacitive. Basically the phone has to light up the area first before the sensor can take a picture of the fingerprint. The early ones definitely had issues, and I do agree that Samsung's early ones are notoriously bad, definitely worse than what others like Huawei did. (again, I mentioned Huawei because I simply see they did an excellent job on their implementations). Having said that, recent Samsung ones are getting better. My A71 is not bad. It's obviously slower than a capacitive sensor, but accuracy is a lot better than some older Samsungs I've tried.

I have no experience on the sonic ones, so can't comment on that.

If fingerprint is not ideal for you, try the face recognition. Obviously it won't be as secure as FaceID on iPhones, but at least it's something. I use working gloves when I work, so I use face recognition on my Samsung, and now am trying Bixby for the things I do with the phone.
 

akuma13

macrumors 6502a
Jan 10, 2006
931
427
I think in an age of masks, this is necessary. I never missed Touch ID after a week with my 11 Pro Max but once this COVID-19 came, I've been ever more grateful for the fingerprint scanner on my LG G8. Under glass fingerprint scanner might not be perfect, but it's something.
Absolutely. I've always been a fan of touchID and when it was removed I just got used to face ID (which worked 85 percent of the time for me). COVID hit and as an essential worker removing my mask to unlock was a no no for me. For the ridiculous amount of money I paid for all the cameras on the 11 Pro Max, it now seemed questionable. Long story short I got a Note 20 Ultra and love the device. The fingerprint sensor works 90 percent of the time but I'd take it over FaceID. I love that android gives you different options to unlock your phones. I made the decision right then that I will never buy an Apple mobile product without TouchID. I gifted my 11 Pro Max to my sister and got an iphone SE as my secondary phone. The iPhone 12 is an absolute no go for me and if Apple decides not to feature TouchID in their future products, bye bye Apple.
 

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Oct 27, 2009
8,780
10,844
Mine works almost 98%. Even with glass screen protector. But I'm glad Samsung using ultrasonic fingerprint instead of optical.

Same here with the S20 Ultra. It works almost flawless, to the point I don't even think about it.
 

BeatCrazy

macrumors 603
Jul 20, 2011
5,005
4,341
I have it on a S20 that I use for work. Only seems to work 50% of the time. I much prefer FaceID.
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,346
4,869
I'd love to have as many options as possible--fingerprint, FaceID, or any other recipe of biometrics. Lew at Unbox Therapy, on his second channel talked yesterday about a patent Apple had filed regarding the entire screen being able to read your fingerprint. I know it's only a patent filing and huge number of these never actually see the light of day but that's something I'd love to have.

Ideally, I hope smartphones will at some point be able to build a big picture based on any number of sensor data (facial recognition, fingerprints, your walking gait, etc) so that it just knows it's me when I pick up my phone.
 

Cryates

macrumors 68040
Nov 19, 2013
3,312
5,209
I don’t really see the logic behind using your fingerprint anywhere on the display. I typically hold my phone the same way every time I use it. Not sure why I would need to fingerprint anywhere else except the bottom middle of the display.
 
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tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,346
4,869
I don’t really see the logic behind using your fingerprint anywhere on the display. I typically hold my phone the same way every time I use it. Not sure why I would need to fingerprint anywhere else except the bottom middle of the display.

You don't see any benefit in having the flexibility of touching anywhere on the screen? You think it's better to have to hit an exact target every time? Less is really better? That's like saying I'd much rather have to hit the bulls eye on a dart board instead of just hitting anywhere on the board. Happy to have a match with you following those rules. ;)

Here's just one scenario for you. You tap on the icon for your banking app an it automatically opens straight to your accounts because the screen scanned your fingerprint when you tapped the icon. That could apply to any security locked application. It really just comes down to ease of use. I love that I can pull down anywhere on my Pixel 4XL's home screen to get my quick settings/notifications vs. having to drag from the top of the screen. Or I can swipe in from anywhere on the side to go back vs. hitting a very small button on the bottom of the phone. I can double tap on the back of my iPhone to access my Control Center so I don't have to reach up to the top right corner.

More choice means I can customize how I use the phone. That's pretty much the hallmark mantra of users who prefer Android, isn't it?
 

Cryates

macrumors 68040
Nov 19, 2013
3,312
5,209
Here's just one scenario for you. You tap on the icon for your banking app an it automatically opens straight to your accounts because the screen scanned your fingerprint when you tapped the icon. That could apply to any security locked application. It really just comes down to ease of use. I love that I can pull down anywhere on my Pixel 4XL's home screen to get my quick settings/notifications vs. having to drag from the top of the screen. Or I can swipe in from anywhere on the side to go back vs. hitting a very small button on the bottom of the phone. I can double tap on the back of my iPhone to access my Control Center so I don't have to reach up to the top right corner.
That’s a very specific use case, and I’d have to see it in practice, but I see the point. Seems like a huge technical hurdle from a hardware standpoint that will surely come with added cost, for something that doesn’t really add much end-user benefit. We pressed a stationary button at the bottom of our phone for years and never once complained that it was stationary.
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,346
4,869
That’s a very specific use case, and I’d have to see it in practice, but I see the point. Seems like not only a huge technical hurdle from a hardware standpoint that will surely come with added cost, for something that doesn’t really add much end-user benefit. We pressed a stationary button at the bottom of our phone for years and never once complained that it was stationary.

And we also had physical number pads on our cell phones in the past but don't see those anymore either do we?

Of course we didn't complain about the physical home button in the past because we didn't have an alternate choice that was better. Now we do.

Would you rather forgo having that in-screen fingerprint reader on your Note 20 Ultra for the physical one found at the bottom of older versions of the Note? I'm sure it's more costly now but isn't it a better user experience having more display on your phone? I'm sure having these newer displays that can refresh at double the rate of older models are also more expensive but again, doesn't it improve the user experience?
 

Cryates

macrumors 68040
Nov 19, 2013
3,312
5,209
And we also had physical number pads on our cell phones in the past but don't see those anymore either do we?

Of course we didn't complain about the physical home button in the past because we didn't have an alternate choice that was better. Now we do.

Would you rather forgo having that in-screen fingerprint reader on your Note 20 Ultra for the physical one found at the bottom of older versions of the Note? I'm sure it's more costly now but isn't it a better user experience having more display on your phone? I'm sure having these newer displays that can refresh at double the rate of older models are also more expensive but again, doesn't it improve the user experience?
Geez, you are comparing pretty extreme advances in hardware technology to saving a few taps here and there by having an all-display reader. Whatever. I’m not looking to argue about it. It just doesn’t make a ton of sense to me to invest in something that’s a minuscule benefit to the end user vs just having it in one familiar spot, under the display. But we all know Apple, they’ll bill it as a huge feature on iPhone 14.
 

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Oct 27, 2009
8,780
10,844
At least the entire lower portion of the display should be finger sensor enabled. I personally don't have an issue finding the exact spot, but I know many people do. As for the entire display, that wouldn't make much sense.
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,346
4,869
Geez, you are comparing pretty extreme advances in hardware technology to saving a few taps here and there by having an all-display reader. Whatever. I’m not looking to argue about it. It just doesn’t make a ton of sense to me to invest in something that’s a minuscule benefit to the end user vs just having it in one familiar spot, under the display. But we all know Apple, they’ll bill it as a huge feature on iPhone 14.

Yup agree to disagree.

Each of us have our own personal preferences. I use the biometrics on my phone either to unlock it entirely or for app access/security probably more than anything other function. Improving the user experience is all about optimizing or adding those little efficiencies that add up. Any added benefits or making it more seamless is welcome by me.
 

TurboJobo

macrumors 6502
Jan 24, 2009
491
221
San Diego/Tijuana
I have not used one but I hope the iPhone in 2020 get's it. I went from an iPhone 7 to the X and I hated FaceID, to me TouchID is just faster, more reliable, and can use it when driving or on a desk. Face ID does not work at angles or while driving.
 
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