Samsung’s likely to stick with a side fingerprint sensor for the Galaxy Z Fold4

After seeinglast year’s foldablesandthis year’s non-folding flagships, expectations are understandably high for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4. Rumors have already suggested that in addition to obvious upgrades like a new processor, we might also see considerableimprovements in the camera department, and maybe, just maybe,a fancy new S Pen. But not every corner of these phones is being reinvented, and for those of you planning to pick up the Fold4, it’s increasingly looking like an in-display fingerprint sensor won’t be on the menu.

According to a new report fromBusinessKorea(viaSamMobile), the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 (or Z-less Galaxy Fold4if recent global developments are anything to go by) will not feature an in-display sensor, instead going for the same sort of side-mounted one we’ve seen on Samsung’s existing Fold phones. Some weak, earlier rumors talked about the idea of an in-display sensor like Samsung employs on the S22, following the discovery of a patent filed by Samsung with the World Intellectual Property Organization — just in case you needed any more confirmation that patent filings rarely lead to good info about upcoming products (especially in the short term).

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Supposedly, this isn’t because of any foldable-related technological hurdle, but that the side sensor is seen as more natural placement than an in-display one. While the latter makes sense on a standard form factor smartphone like the Galaxy S22 series, in a foldable, the side is a more logical option as the main display is hidden away, and relying on an in-display sensor can represent an extra step.

Of course, it’s still early days for this year’s new foldables, and we’re probably still a few months away from getting anything concrete — Samsung might have some more surprises waiting for us in the weeks to come.

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