Samsung could be preparing to swap out its signature lozenge-shaped home button for something more iPhone-like in the Samsung Galaxy S8.
It’s one of those features that instantly distinguishes a Samsung phone from an iPhone – the shape of its physical home button.
We could be one identifying mark down before too long, though, according to a recently emerged pair of patents (via Patently Mobile). It seems Samsung is looking to improve its fingerprint sensor technology, and a newly emerged patent from the company shows a device with a circular home button sensor.
This would doubtless dredge up the old ‘Apple copy-cat’ accusations that Samsung has done so well to shake off in recent years, should it become a reality in a future phone like the Samsung Galaxy S8.
Of course, with rumours that Apple is set to ditch the home button altogether in the 2017 iPhone, this would be much less of a problem if it turned up in 2018’s Samsung Galaxy S9.
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The second patent deals with a more traditional Android solution. It places the fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone, where there’s more space to spread out.
We’ll have to wait and see which of these, if any, Samsung opts to switch to. With rumours that the company could be pursuing iris recognition with future devices, such physical biometric systems might not even matter for too much longer.
Where do you prefer your fingerprint sensor – on the back, or on the front of your phone? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
