Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ could feature front-facing fingerprint reader, but there's a catch

Samsung had to face a lot of criticism for placing the fingerprint reader close to the rear cameras of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Due to manufacturing difficulties, the company had to retain the component at the same position in the recently launched Galaxy Note 8.

Now, if a Samsung patent filed with KIPRIS -- the South Korea's patent office -- is to be believed, the company is preparing to compensate for that broadly-criticised move as it has apparently found a way to add the fingerprint reader to the front of its next-generation flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S9.

According to the patent documentation, the Galaxy S9 may feature a small recess -- like the Essential Phone -- at the bottom of its front to incorporate a small, but super-fast fingerprint reader, Sammobile reported.

However, the publication also said that having a recess may not be the best way to get the front-facing fingerprint reader back to business. Sammobile also referred to one of its recent poll revealing that the majority of the responders would hate to see an iPhone X-like notch on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9.

Although the patent filing doesn't guarantee that Samsung will turn it into an official feature in its future smartphone, it does suggest that the company desperately wants a front-facing fingerprint reader in its next-generation full-screen devices.

However, what consumers would probably love to have in their handsets is display-mounted fingerprint reader, a technology that Samsung is apparently still struggling to achieve.

The latest report came more than a week after rumours surfaced saying that the Galaxy S9 would feature a 3D sensor-equipped front camera offering improved facial recognition capabilities like Apple's iPhone X.

The rumour also led to concerns that the inclusion of a 3D sensor-enabled facial recognition system in the Galaxy S9 may jeopardise the future of existing biometric features like the iris scanner and the fingerprint sensor.

As for other rumoured details of the Galaxy S9, the device is expected to sport the same 5.8-inch Infinity Display as the Galaxy S8. The Galaxy S9+, on the other hand, is likely to feature a 6.2-inch Infinity Display similar to that of the Galaxy S8+.

Both Galaxy S9 and S9+ are also speculated to be powered by the Snapdragon 845 CPU, coupled with 6GB of RAM.