It's clear Samsung has no plans to board the notch bandwagon with its upcoming Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 smartphones, with the company openly mocking the Google Pixel 3 XL on social media over the cut-out included in its display.
However, it now seems Samsung will avoid that ever-growing trend in smartphone design by embedding its selfie camera, proximity and ambient light sensors, front-facing speakers and fingerprint scanner beneath an edge-to-edge glass display.
OnePlus has already confirmed plans to include the latter in its hotly-anticipated OnePlus 6T, which is set to be unveiled during a ticketed event on October 29. Huawei also recently launched the Mate 20 Pro with an in-display fingerprint sensor.
So, the in-display fingerprint scanner alone is not much to differentiate the upcoming Galaxy devices from other rival handsets. However, the ability to squeeze the front-facing speakers, camera, iris scanner, proximity and light sensors as well sounds very interesting indeed. The South Korean technology firm teased its plans during a private presentation with customers held in China last week.
1.FoD, that is, the fingerprint technology under the screen.2. UPS, under-screen sensor (including camera) technology.3.HoD, the touch-sensitive touch-sensitive technology.4.SoD, screen sound technology.UPS!UPS!October 19, 2018
Reliable tipster Ice Universe tweeted a photo of the Samsung keynote, which revealed the tech that could make the notch – and the entire bezel – unnecessary for future Galaxy devices.
It seems unlikely these features will be ready in time for the S10, with sources speaking suggesting the first truly all-screen Galaxy devices won't arrive until 2020.
According to leakster Samsung Mobile News: "Samsung is working on a new technology trying to hide the front camera underneath the display. My sources told me that there are just a hand full of prototypes using this technology.
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"I don't think we'll see this feature in retail phones until 2020, but who knows."
That said, Samsung has already teased that fans can expect to see a major design refresh coming to the Galaxy S line-up with its next handset after two years of iterating the Galaxy S7 Edge template. So, there's at least a little hope this ambitious technology could be coming down the pipeline sooner than expected.
Elsewhere, the Galaxcy S10 is widely-rumoured to have a self-healing display that prevents light scratches by repairing itself. Granted, it won't be able to stop cracks if you drop the phone – but it could stop smaller nicks and lines on the glass display.
The next Galaxy is also rumoured to have a triple-camera system on the back, as well as 5G network compatibilty, and improved artificial intelligence.
As a former Staff Writer for T3, Aaron writes about almost anything shiny and techie. When he’s not barking orders at Alexa-powered microwaves or gawping at 5G speed tests, Aaron covers everything from smartphones, tablets and laptops, to speakers, TVs and smart home gadgets. Prior to joining T3, Aaron worked at the Daily Express and and MailOnline.
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