"Samsung Suddenly Exposes Radical New Galaxy Smartphone"

[Broadus]

Admittedly, I haven't kept up with Samsung or followed any threads in this forum for a long time, but I came across this article this morning and was intrigued by it. As one who is seriously considering buying the Apple XR but just as seriously does not care for the notch . . . well anyway, Gordon Kelly writes:

We know Samsung likes to boast about its upcoming 10th-anniversary Galaxy S10, and with good reason. Leaks have already told us about its all-new design, ’ultrasonic’ in-display reader, triple rear cameras, gradient colors and 5G option. But now Samsung has quietly confirmed something even more exciting…

The company held a private event for 20 top business partners this week at the Shenzhen Marriott Hotel in China and prolific leaker Ice Universemanaged to get eyes inside. What Ice learnt is Samsung is preparing new bezel-less, notch-less displays which not only integrate a fingerprint sensor but the front-facing camera and speakers as well. And Samsung broke down how this will work.

In a slideshow presentation (above), Samsung pinpoints four key technologies: FoD, HoD, SoD and the most exciting which is UPS.

Fingerprint on Display (FoD) - is widely expected on the Galaxy S10 but with a twist. While current in-display readers are optical (effectively taking a photo of your fingerprint), Samsung will use Ultrasonic pulses which use reverberation to build a complex and highly secure 3D map of a user’s fingerprint.

Haptics on Display (HoD) - is far more than the standard vibration feedback we all know. It works to create the sensation of physical buttons on a display, something Samsung illustrated with physical-feeling controller buttons for gaming.

Sound on Display (SoD)- scraps the need for external speakers, instead it uses the screen itself as a single giant surface to conduct sound.

Under Panel Sensors (UPS) - are arguably the most exciting of all. This enables components such as the camera lens and facial recognition sensor to be placed behind the screen so they are hidden, but they can see through it when in use.

Interestingly, both FoD and SoD technology is already on the market while HoD wouldn’t be essential to create an all-screen phone. UPS is the big breakthrough and something which would remove the need for pop-up front camera hacks as seen on the Vivo Nex S and Oppo Find X. As cool as these are, they require moving parts which compromise water resistance and structural integrity.

Samsung, given its size and very public hate for display notches, is the outstanding candidate to pull this off and briefing its top customers is a clear show of intent.

Will Samsung get this technology to market in time for the Galaxy S10? It’s impossible to say. That said, given the company decided not to overhaul the 2017 Galaxy S8 design with the 2018 Galaxy S9, it would make sense if the company was stalling so it could Wow the crowds with its 10th-anniversary model. Apple went down a similar path with its completely redesigned 10th-anniversary iPhone X.

All of which begs one further question: it all this just Part One? After all, Samsung has promised it is “time to deliver” something even more radical which may well launch at almost the same time…
​

If true for the S10, will this be a game changer vs. the iPhone? As Kelly points out, the question is whether Samsung can pull this off in time for the S10. If not, it seems they should be able to for the S11, but will this increase the price of Samsung's flagship phones. Any thoughts?

 

[dk001]

If they can come up with this for the 10 ... wow . Might just have found the successor for my current Razer.

I still am looking at the Huawei Mate 20 Pro at the moment.

 

[NT1440]

UPS is cool, and something every phone maker has been researching for years (Apple’s patents go back to 2014 or so). That’s not a knock, good on Sammy for actually moving towards manufacturing.

Fingerprint, cool tech but not something I care about to be honest. Again that doesn’t take away from the vendors developing the tech.

The haptics one is funny to me. This is clearly the goal of Apple’s years already-deployed haptic engine, I just think they’re explicitly not saying it mimics button presses at this time. I think it’s foolish for Samsung to explicitly describe it as such because there’s no way it will match the expectations on gen1.

Cool stuff though

 

[Puddled]

Ya.....

 

[ramram55]

After all Samsung is under the gun from the Chinese device around the world except US, so they have to be one step ahead, over $1000 for one phone? forget it.

 

[akash.nu]

If history showed anything about Samsung, is that they promise a boatload of gimmicky feature with piss poor execution. I’ll believe it when I see it in action.

 

[drinkingtea]

But too bad about the software.

 

[Ralfi]

All those technologies debuting in the one device?

Impressive, but unrealistic.

 

[Nilhum]

Why add the fingerprint on display? It’s so convenient to put my finger on the back and the device is unlocked. A fingerprint on the display is slower, has a only a small portion you can use, and you can’t feel it in your pocket.

Samsung already has the face scanner and retina scanner in the front. What would be the point of adding both of those scanners in the front?

Those features seem unlikely all in generation. It would for sure impact the android market, but not phase the iPhone market at all. Apple ran the 6 design for 4 years I am sure they will run the X design for even longer.

 

[dk001]

Why add the fingerprint on display? It’s so convenient to put my finger on the back and the device is unlocked. A fingerprint on the display is slower, has a only a small portion you can use, and you can’t feel it in your pocket.

Samsung already has the face scanner and retina scanner in the front. What would be the point of adding both of those scanners in the front?

Those features seem unlikely all in generation. It would for sure impact the android market, but not phase the iPhone market at all. Apple ran the 6 design for 4 years I am sure they will run the X design for even longer.

I suspect some of these were originally slated for the 9 but did not come through. Still, I wonder of we will only see some and others when the next Note rolls out.

 

[pika2000]

After all Samsung is under the gun from the Chinese device around the world except US, so they have to be one step ahead, over $1000 for one phone? forget it.

Samsung actually starts having other companies make their phones, and slap Samsung's label on it. Their first ODM phones will be the Galaxy A6s.
Heck, the Galaxy A lineup is starting to look like the Chinese phones, even downgrading to microUSB for the new Galaxy A7, and no more IP68.

 

[840quadra]

People get too caught up on who does things first. Even if it is a crappy / poor implementation with many flaws.

UPS is cool, and something every phone maker has been researching for years (Apple’s patents go back to 2014 or so). That’s not a knock, good on Sammy for actually moving towards manufacturing.

Fingerprint, cool tech but not something I care about to be honest. Again that doesn’t take away from the vendors developing the tech.

The haptics one is funny to me. This is clearly the goal of Apple’s years already-deployed haptic engine, I just think they’re explicitly not saying it mimics button presses at this time. I think it’s foolish for Samsung to explicitly describe it as such because there’s no way it will match the expectations on gen1.

Cool stuff though

As you said, Apple is known to be working on UPS as well, and I honestly prefer their common methodology of waiting until just after "bleeding edge" before they put it into production. I see little value in being first, if the technology has issues, and it causes the user base issues, or other negative artifacts.

The sad thing is, even if there is evidence that they are working on the tech (as you hinted on in patents) many zealots on the Android side of the fence will state Apple copied others. That attitude ignores the importance of waiting until the tech is proven and reliable (lab or otherwise) before pushing it out on the masses. Some of the Chinese brands have in screen fingerprint sensors, but likely won't face the same type of "lets see if we can trick it" tests as does Samsung or Apple. I am also confident they will find some janky way to put the UPS tech into their phones before Samsung or Apple releases theirs.

What's funny? If Apple ended up finding a better way of doing UPS ( perhaps not needing to shut off pixels) they will still be damned as being copycats.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

People get too caught up on who does things first. Even if it is a crappy / poor implementation with many flaws.


As you said, Apple is known to be working on UPS as well, and I honestly prefer their common methodology of waiting until just after "bleeding edge" before they put it into production. I see little value in being first, if the technology has issues, and it causes the user base issues, or other negative artifacts.

The sad thing is, even if there is evidence that they are working on the tech (as you hinted on in patents) many zealots on the Android side of the fence will state Apple copied others. That attitude ignores the importance of waiting until the tech is proven and reliable (lab or otherwise) before pushing it out on the masses. Some of the Chinese brands have in screen fingerprint sensors, but likely won't face the same type of "lets see if we can trick it" tests as does Samsung or Apple. I am also confident they will find some janky way to put the UPS tech into their phones before Samsung or Apple releases theirs.

What's funny? If Apple ended up finding a better way of doing UPS ( perhaps not needing to shut off pixels) they will still be damned as being copycats.

Both Apple and Samsung have pending patents and been working at plenty of things that will never make it to consumers. I think it's at least fair to state companies do influence each other to actually implement what the other already has. But it's just much easier to speak in a nonchalant manner and say x copied y.

Also, not everything that hits the mainstream consumer market first is riddled with issues. Of course improvement is a given, but there is plenty of firsts on the iPhone and Android side that have been great from the start. Especially in the past five years.

That being said, I doubt there will be any major concern at what Samsung it about to implement on the S10.

Now folding display phones that Samsung will be announcing soon, that might be a differ story. Which is why it will most likely be a limited and niche device at first.

 

[Shanghaichica]

The S10 sounds exciting. Let’s see what Samsung have up their sleeve next year.

Is that article written by Forbes. Their articles are so annoying. It’s always a radical new something or a nasty surprise.

 

[Lloydbm41]

People get too caught up on who does things first. Even if it is a crappy / poor implementation with many flaws.


As you said, Apple is known to be working on UPS as well, and I honestly prefer their common methodology of waiting until just after "bleeding edge" before they put it into production. I see little value in being first, if the technology has issues, and it causes the user base issues, or other negative artifacts.

The sad thing is, even if there is evidence that they are working on the tech (as you hinted on in patents) many zealots on the Android side of the fence will state Apple copied others. That attitude ignores the importance of waiting until the tech is proven and reliable (lab or otherwise) before pushing it out on the masses. Some of the Chinese brands have in screen fingerprint sensors, but likely won't face the same type of "lets see if we can trick it" tests as does Samsung or Apple. I am also confident they will find some janky way to put the UPS tech into their phones before Samsung or Apple releases theirs.

What's funny? If Apple ended up finding a better way of doing UPS ( perhaps not needing to shut off pixels) they will still be damned as being copycats.

Apple waits, regardless if a technology is bleeding edge or mature. In many cases, they do this as a differentiator (think S models) between a previous years iphone. Qi charging, NFC, LTE, OLED panels were all around and mature long before Apple added them to iPhones

 

[rhinosrcool]

The S10 sounds exciting. Let’s see what Samsung have in their sleeve next year.

Is that article written by Forbes. Their articles are so annoying. It’s always a radical new something or a nasty surprise.

Agreed.