Galaxy S9: Samsung’s 2018 Flagship Will Retain Its Awkward Rear Sensor, Just Not In The Way Users Think

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are due to be unveiled pretty soon, but Samsung has largely been successful at keeping most of the upcoming smartphones’ details secret. So far, very little about the handsets apart from their names are known. The Galaxy S9 and S9+’s performance and overall design are still pretty much open to speculation.

Recently, however, a leak from a Galaxy S9 health app revealed something unique about the upcoming flagship device’s design. As stated in a recent report from Phone Arena, a series of screencaps from Samsung’s S Health app for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ shows a heart rate sensor where the Galaxy S8’s notorious rear fingerprint scanner used to be.

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are two of the best smartphones released this 2017. When Samsung unveiled the devices, mobile enthusiasts and critics all lauded the flagship smartphone for its bleeding edge design, its features, and its performance. While the Galaxy S8 and S8+ were near-perfect devices, however, the flagship smartphones had one particularly annoying flaw — their fingerprint sensors were placed right beside the device’s camera.

This resulted in frequent lens smudges, warnings from the handset about dirty cameras, and an overall awkward user experience. Galaxy S8 and S8+ users, for their part, did not waste any time voicing out their reservations about the smartphones’ design, stating that the 2017 flagships’ fingerprint sensors were the one true flaw of the otherwise perfect devices.

If the recent leaks about the Galaxy S9 and S9+’s rear sensors are any indication, however, it would seem like Samsung would be addressing its users’ grievances with its first 2018 flagship. As could be seen in the leaked images, the scanner beside the Galaxy S9 and S9+’s camera unit would be a heart rate sensor instead.

The fingerprint scanner on the device, for its part, would be placed under the Galaxy S9’s camera, or cameras, if rumors about the Galaxy S9+’s dual sensors prove accurate. Interestingly, however, the space seemingly allotted to the Galaxy S9 and S9+’s fingerprint sensors is quite small, suggesting that the feature might be activated by touching the scanner with the tip of a finger. This, of course, would result in a small learning curve for users of the upcoming device once more.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are shaping up to be one of 2018’s most anticipated handsets. Over the past few weeks, several encouraging leaks and rumors have emerged. As noted in a report from Galaxy Club, there is a good chance that the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ would have a smaller footprint than their predecessors, thanks to their 18:5:9 Infinity Display and a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio.

Coupled with formidable internals, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ might very well make an impact in the mobile sphere this coming year.