Strange Samsung Galaxy S8 design choice to follow delays and Note 7 fiasco

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

Find out moreClose

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 has been the subject of countless rumours over recent months, but the latest leaks all but confirm an unusual design choice that could be cause for concern.

Thanks to the handset’s enlarged screen, Samsung has decided to completely drop the home button and move the fingerprint scanner to the back of the phone.

However, Samsung appears to have taken a very different approach to rival smartphone manufacturers that have also embraced the rear-mounted sensor.

Schematics released by Cnet Korea suggest that the Galaxy S8’s fingerprint scanner will sit right beside the camera sensor, rather than a couple of centimetres below it.

Users will inevitably end up inadvertently fingering the larger camera lens instead of the fingerprint scanner, which will need wiping down if enough dirt builds up over its surface.

It also appears to be positioned abnormally high up on the phone’s rear panel, potentially making it uncomfortable to reach, especially for users with small hands.

Finally, its off-centre placement – to the right of the camera – could suit right-handed users more than left-handed users.

“The home button and fingerprint sensor will be on the right side of the camera lens when viewed from the front,” Cnet Korea quotes a Samsung official as saying.

“The reason why it is on the right rather than the rear centre is because most people hold their smartphone in their right hand and the right index finger touches this location.”

The phone will not launch at Mobile World Congress later this month thanks to delays caused by the Galaxy Note 7, which went up in flames due to a variety of battery issues.

A lot is, therefore, riding on the Galaxy S8, with Samsung hoping its next flagship helps it bounce back from a troubled period and win back consumer trust.

The company is expected to launch the S8 in March before going on sale in late April.