Samsung's Galaxy S5 to sport fingerprint sensor, 32-bit SoC

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
As Samsung readies its Galaxy S5 to take on Apple's iPhone later this spring, one analyst believes the Korean company will be playing catch-up with an embedded fingerprint sensor and 32-bit processor.



According to a research note obtained by AppleInsider, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts Samsung needs a fingerprint verification system to keep up with the market's rush toward on-board biometrics spurred by the iPhone 5s.

While Apple was certainly not the first to implement biometric security in a portable device, it sparked a trend by introducing a simple, effective and, most importantly, reliable solution with Touch ID. By leveraging the popularity of the iPhone brand, Touch ID is now in the hands of millions of consumers, leaving other manufacturers scrambling to get out similar products.

As for Samsung, Kuo believes the company will use fingerprint recognition technology built by partner Validity Sensors, a firm purchased by touchpad maker Synaptics last year.

"Fingerprint is necessary for a star model," Kuo writes. "Because Apple's iPhone 5S and HTC's One Max have fingerprint, S5 the star model can't lack the function even [if] the solution (area type same as iPhone 5S's provided by Validity) is not as mature as iPhone 5S's."

Kuo believes Samsung will once again make a grab for high-end handset marketshare by pushing out two models differentiated by processor type, display resolution and memory. Both versions will continue Samsung's big-screen blitz with a 5.2-inch display, with the top-end "Prime" iteration employing a WQHD AMOLED panel with a pixel density of 565 pixels per inch.

Powering the handset will be an in-house Exynos 5430 processor built on Samsung's 20nm process and 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM to help with graphics duties. The chip is not 64-bit silicon like that found in Apple's iPhone 5s, iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display.

Other features include a 16-megapixel rear shooter with support for phase detection autofocus and 3D gestures. The S5 will likely carry over a plastic shell design from this year's S4, though metal-clad products are on the horizon, says Kuo. Apple, on the other hand, has chosen to build its handsets out of premium materials like metal and glass since the iPhone 4, which debuted in 2010.

Countering rumors, Kuo feels Samsung is not prepared to introduce iris scanning tech in the upcoming flagship Galaxy. Earlier in January, Samsung's vice president of mobile Lee Young Hee said the company was "studying the possibility" of incorporating the feature into future products, but would not comment on whether it would be ready for the S5's launch.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 151

    “It’s 32-bit, but it will have eight cores, so really that’s 256-bit and Apple’s four times as slow.”

  • Reply 2 of 151
    I'm starting to suspect that Ming-Chi Kuo is sending AppleInsider these press releases whenever AI writes "in a research note obtained by AppleInsider".

    Also "research note" = rumor & guesswork published as a self-promoting press release. AppleInsider is just publicizing these press releases.
  • Reply 3 of 151
    red oakred oak Posts: 1,087member
    So, it comes down to the same plastic flagship phone. But bigger

    Oh yeah, and a fingerprint sensor that is not going to work. I bet you won't even be able to use it to make purchases from the Google Play store. And I bet security experts are going to have a field day with the implementation
  • Reply 4 of 151
    dnd0psdnd0ps Posts: 253member
    Ty SAMSUNGINSIDER
  • Reply 5 of 151
    Originally Posted by Red Oak View Post

    Oh yeah, and a fingerprint sensor that is not going to work. I bet you won't even be able to use it to make purchases from the Google Play store. And I bet security experts are going to have a field day with the implementation

     

    It’ll be one of those swipe sensors, you know? The ones that after ten uses get so gummed up with oily secretions that they’re useless and disgusting for the rest of the time you own the device.

  • Reply 6 of 151
    In my experience Synaptics builds terribly buggy touch pads so that bodes very well for "me too, me too!" Samsung's fingerprint touch efforts. :no:
  • Reply 7 of 151
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    red oak wrote: »
    So, it comes down to the same plastic flagship phone. But bigger

    Oh yeah, and a fingerprint sensor that is not going to work. I bet you won't even be able to use it to make purchases from the Google Play store. And I bet security experts are going to have a field day with the implementation

    We all know it's not going to work. I'm just wondering what the excuse will be from all those bed-wetting fandroids after criticizing Apple's TouchID and calling it a gimmick, and insecure, and how nobody would use it.
  • Reply 8 of 151
    comleycomley Posts: 139member
    The iPhone was revolutionary that's why Companies copied iPhone And they're still copying iPhone more more people Android users switching to innovation The iPhone !
  • Reply 9 of 151
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    BGR seems to think the high end model will be aluminum and include a 64-bit chip.




    Videos will look great on a WQHD display but we will need to see battery life to know if the tradeoff for that resolution was worth it or not. No doubt their fingerprint scanner will not be anywhere close to as good as TouchID on the iPhone, but I don't think many people won't really care all that much. Most Android users seem to favor the swipe pattern unlock and I doubt that will change. It has some solid spec upgrades from the S4 and if they do a redesign of the exterior with aluminum it will probably have better sales than the S4 as many S3 owners that skipped the S4 look for an upgrade. Right now all we have is a lot of conflicting rumors so it remains to be seen what the actually S5 will or not include. 
  • Reply 10 of 151

    "sport" ????

  • Reply 11 of 151
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member

    8 cores? Seems like a lot for a phone.

  • Reply 12 of 151
    enzosenzos Posts: 344member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Hydrogen View Post

     

    "sport" ????


    verb[ with obj. ] wear or display (a distinctive item)

    Rather than have a useful one. Perfect usage!

  • Reply 13 of 151
    When will Android OS be rewritten as a 64-bit OS?

    Which 64-bit APUs will Android support?

    When.will Android apps be rewritten to exploit a 64-bit version of Android OS?


    Oh, this is number one -- the fun has just begun, roll me over, lay me down and do it again…
    Roll me over in the clover -- roll me over, lay me down and do it again!
  • Reply 14 of 151
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post



    When.will Android apps be rewritten to exploit a 64-bit version of Android OS?



     

    They can't even get the 32-bit Android running smoothly on a 32-bit chip!  Even with 8-cores, it'll still run like s**t.

  • Reply 15 of 151
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member
    I find it incredible that they put so much confusion on their models, with a prime and standard version, on purpose. A colleague of mine, who is very tech savvy, bought a Galaxy S3 thinking that it was the top model. It was in fact the model with the slower processor. A lot of people probably think their Galaxy phone has a X-core processor when it actually has X/2 processors. Not that it matters.
  • Reply 16 of 151
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member
    Also, that ppi is clearly overkill, but I wouldn't be surprised if they actually use it. The iPhone might need an increase to its ppi to reach a level close to the S4 (which IMO is the maximum ppi I care about) because I can still see some lines of pixels in some conditions.
  • Reply 17 of 151
    sflocal wrote: »
    When.will Android apps be rewritten to exploit a 64-bit version of Android OS?


     
    They can't even get the 32-bit Android running smoothly on a 32-bit chip!  Even with 8-cores, it'll still run like s**t.

    Yes, this is so important…

    And this:
    The latest official data from Apple reveals that 78 percent of active iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices are running the company's latest mobile operating system, iOS 7, up four percentage points from earlier this month.


    http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/12/31/ios-7-now-installed-on-78-of-active-apple-handheld-devices


    In less than six months, Apple has moved the majority of its iDevice users to an operating system that supports 32/64 bits.

    I suspect 64-bit apps will drive sales of new IDevices.

    This may provide Apple within insurmountable lead over the competition.
  • Reply 18 of 151
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ascii View Post

     

    8 cores? Seems like a lot for a phone.


     

    It's a trick they learned from AMD. You inflate the core count with many slow, crippled, cheap cores guaranteeing that people who make purchasing decisions based on the palm rest stickers at Best Buy will choose your product.

  • Reply 19 of 151
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ascii View Post

     

    8 cores? Seems like a lot for a phone.


     

    8 cores for a 2 bit operating system.

  • Reply 20 of 151
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post

     

    They can't even get the 32-bit Android running smoothly on a 32-bit chip!  Even with 8-cores, it'll still run like s**t.


     

    Can't they? That's funny, because it runs pretty smoothly on my Nexus 5.

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