Samsung Said To Out-Tech Apple With Galaxy Note 9

Samsung Electronics, fresh off its success with the Galaxy S8, is working on the Galaxy Note 9, which may come equipped with something the Apple iPhone X is missing: a fingerprint sensor.

That’s according to a news report in TheStreet.com, citing KGI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has made a name for himself by correctly predicting what both Apple and Samsung have had up their sleeves when it comes to what’s next in smartphone tech.

In a research report, the KGI Securities analyst said the Galaxy Note 9, which is slated to launch in February of 2018, will have an “under-display optical fingerprint sensor.” This technology will allow users to unlock their devices via fingerprint.

Instead of going the tactical route, Apple’s upcoming iPhone X will have built-in facial recognition technology to unlock a user’s phone. While the tech company had reportedly been working on a fingerprint sensor for its iPhone 8 and iPhone X, Apple gave up after the company reportedly had a tough go of it trying to embed the technology in the OLED-based screen.

Samsung, too, has facial recognition built into the Galaxy S8. But, according to TheStreet.com, with more and more reports surfacing since the launch of the Note 8, apparently it’s easy to hack the phone’s Face ID tech by using a photo of the device’s owner. Samsung is thus integrating the under-display optical fingerprint sensor to increase security, noted the report.

News that Samsung may be outsmarting Apple on the tech front comes as a handful of reports surfaced last week that the iPhone 8 has a battery that swells, cracking open the sides of the device. Apple confirmed it is looking into the reports, which came from at least six users in five different countries, but the company said it believes the swelling is not a safety issue.