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  • I like the idea of Face unlock, but at the same time it seems less secure (like my kid could take my phone and show it to me and then have access to it, without my approval). I really miss the rear reader from my prior Pixels had! I hate the reliability and bright light of the ones on the current Pixels (for me it misses my thumbs 50% of the time, but gets my finger 75% of the time). The rear scanners worked pretty much every time and yes, I would usually have my phone unlocked by the time it was fully out of my pocket.

    Honestly, in a perfect world I’d like to have the option for all 3 (willing to pay extra for that – maybe make that a “Pro” feature). That way when I’m getting it out of my pants it will be quickly (and reliably) unlocked, but when I have my phone laying on the desk (or in my car dock) I’ll still be able to unlock it without picking it up. And when my kids are out of the house I can use face unlock ????

  • So, back in the day when rear fingerprint readers were common on LG phones, they were great. Except, when your sitting at your computer or anywhere you have your phone laying down. You had to pick it up to use the reader vs an optical or ultrasonic. It seems people have forgotten the bad side to them.

  • I went from an LG V30S to a Pixel 7. The LG physical fingerprint reader and face reader are superior to the point that, if I’m home, I use most of my apps on my LG instead of the Pixel; it’s annoying to have to try repeatedly to unlock my Pixel when it just works on my LG. The placement of the fingerprint reader on the back of the LG is also better (IMO) but that’s a minor quibble in the overall issue of always reliable (my LG) and unreliable (my Pixel). I truly thought that the Pixel would be a huge step up given it was ~5 years newer but I’ve been unimpressed.

    • Still have my V30 upstairs. Took it out a few months back and played around with it. It feels wildly slow compared to my Fold but man it was such a great phone for its time.

  • I’m ok with a physical fingerprint reader on the side like on the Flip/Fold series. Wish the S22U had one.

  • I’m quite satisfied with the face unlock on Pixel 8 Pro. I have never utilised any fingerprint unlock/verification on any device. It is the one thing that isn’t on the Internet & I intend to keep it that way as far as possible.

    Call me paranoid, but in this day & age, anything on a device is always susceptible to leaks, be it because of zero-day vulnerabilities or some lapse from the device-maker, or worse, if we discover one day that the device/OS maker has secretly been storing personal biometric data all along.

  • My Pixel 7 Pro reads my finger 90% of the time. The other ten I have to use the nose oil trick. It’s a bit gross, and I often wish for a more reliable sensor.

  • How do you unlock the screen if the phone is in your car in a legal phone mount and the fingerprint area is on the back?

  • i did prefer the physical fpr on my old pixel 3 especially with a case on cause the little hole cut out was exactly where my finger fell and i would unlock easy. liked being able to swipe the reader to swipe the notification down to peak at them without having to hold on the screen too.

    on pixel 7 i dont have any issues getting a read and dont mind it but do hate having a constant smudge spot on the screen.

    my work phone is an S22 and rarely reads my print causing me to use pin most of the time even after multiple attempts to set prints

    i know the option of having both in screen and rear button would never happen but would be nice to have the convenience of front and for me at least better function of rear

  • Heck Id kill to have headphone jacks, removeable batteries, MiroSD slots, and IR blasters come back too.

    I would literally take a Note 4 if it had a modern CPU / GPU and screen… Whatever happened to the good ole “stuff and things” phones…

    Someone make a modern Note 4 damn it!!

      • I wouldn’t mind SD slots again, but honestly, I’d be satisfied with more base storage – like way more. The manufacturers like to charge a mega premium for storage, even though storage is cheap these days. There’s no reason phones can’t have base storage in the terabytes realm at this point – but how else are they going to sell you that cloud storage for a recurring fee?

        • Wow! You must use your phone vastly different than I do. I haven’t needed more than ~32GB on any phone for any reason… ever. I do miss microSD cards being a thing, but please do NOT raise the price of phones just to include massive unneeded amounts of storage that most users don’t need nor want to pay for.

          Ideally you buy the upgraded model and I buy the base model.

          • Nah, I don’t need that much personally yet. But I could think of a few reasons for more storage, like:
            -All local photos at full resolution instead of deleting them in favor of the (usually) high quality setting on Google photos.
            -I could have a lot more movies and shows local too through plex so I don’t have to deal with lower quality streams on the go.
            -Local music also would be nice again, since YTM does an absolutely horrible job with changing it up, and just plays the same 10ish songs over and over and over again, despite skipping them all the time. I’m slowly buying songs from iTunes again, so I have local DRM free copies that can’t be taken away.

  • Fingerprint sensor on the back is the most inconvenient thing ever. You have to pick up your phone every time you want to use it or put in a pin/password. Side or front are the only logical choices.
    I love my optical front scanner, it’s just convenient even though it’s 0.001 seconds slower than a physical one. I’ll survive. ????????‍♂️

  • The 3/10ths of a second I would save with a rear mounted fp sensor, even added up over the course of a day, will make absolutely No difference in my life.

  • I’ve used phones with in screen fingerprint sensors from One Plus, Google, and Samsung and their performance has ranged from pretty bad to unusable. The ones on the back or a side were far superior and always worked flawlessly for me. It seems like phone manufactures only switched to in screen sensors to switch to new technology they thought was cutting edge when there was no good reason to do it.

  • So many design regressions on newer phones; less accurate FP scanners, holes in the display instead of thin bezels or small notch for the camera, dropping as much IO as possible (headphone jacks, SD card expansion, IR blasters, etc.), non-removable batteries, harder to repair phones, front facing stereo speakers, etc. I would give anything to go back to a HTC One M8 style phone now; that was peak phone design IMO.

  • Also, from an accessibility standpoint a physical FPR would allow someone to feel around for a targeted area to unlock the device with low effort. If we are going to have camera bumps on the back of phones a physical FPR doesn’t sound like that big of a deal on the back of the phone either.

  • As someone who had a Nexus 6p, pixel 2xl and switched to a galaxy s21+ and now pixel 8 pro I can confidently say I prefer the under screen ones. For me they’re just as consistent, just as fast, and easier to use on a desk. You have to touch your screen to use it so my finger is going to be there eventually even if it isn’t out of my pocket. Do I like being blinded when I unlock my phone too quick? No which is why I preferred the s21+ sensor but I’m only in bed using my phone twice a day but I’m sitting at a desk for 8+ hours with my phone’s back being inaccessible.

  • Unless you have biometrics in the camera, face unlock is pointless. I like being able to have my phone on a table and unlock it. The only time it fails to unlock for me is if I don’t cover the sensor all the way so, it’s super accurate. I’m not saying this is the common experience, just my own.

  • Not a fan of optical technology over physical but I never want to go back to readers on the back side. Yes, it is fine when you take phone from your pocket but utmost irritating when the phone is laying on the table (which for me happens all the time).

    Having to pick up the phone before to unlock it was super annoying.

    So yes, technology could improve, location please don’t.

    • I agree with this. I thought the unique-ness of the rear sensor was cool and was definitely a fanboy but I never really liked using it for gestures anyways. Once I had my first ultrasonic sensor I completely switched to preferring that instead because it was just so convenient when the phone wasn’t coming out of my pocket. Sure, there was the rare occasion I’d have to touch it twice and it might not be as lightning fast but at that point we’re really splitting hairs. Plus the ultrasonic sensors are wildly fast and accurate now, especially if you register the same finger twice.

  • The Pixel 4XL face unlock was awesome. I miss it. If you had something like that and physical fingerprint reader, I would be in heaven.

    • Same, it worked in all light conditions. The version in the P8 becomes entirely worthless after sunset, unless you keep your house at the brightness of an operating room.

  • Counterpoint – I utterly hate the fingerprint reader on the Fold 5 because it triggers CONSTANTLY on various parts of fingers and hands and locks it up.

    I have not had a problem with the in screen readers in years, honestly.

  • …or just get the damn software corrected. The Pixel 7Pro finger-print reader just plain stinks…especially when used to open secure apps (i.e banking, Google Wallet, health, etc.)

  • While I would prefer a physical fingerprint sensor I have no trouble with the fingerprint sensor in the Pixel 8. I can’t deny though that I’ve seen a lot of people with issues to the point that Google really should do something about it.

  • Totally agree. The rear fingerprint reader on my former Pixel 3XL was the best experience I ever had.

  • I don’t know if this helps anyone, but the fingerprint reader on my Pixel 6 Pro is disabled if my proximity sensor is seeing anything (likely to prevent it triggering in a pocket?).

    I realized that the only time I ever have a problem with it reading is if I’m laying in bed and holding the phone at the top with my fingers and trying to unlock with my thumb. If I move my fingers away before unlocking it works nearly 100% of the time.

  • I’m pretty sure Samsung secured a patent for their ultrasonic scanner years ago and that’s what they use.

    Google might or probably does not have an in-house solution so licensing the use of that would increase the cost of the Pixel. I’m not saying I don’t miss the physical reader either but let’s not forget that it also had issues reading many people’s fingers when the temperature/humidity would change, fingers would get dry, etc.

    95% of the time, the fingerprint or face reader combination works well. The rest of the time (in the dark) is more hit or miss but my optical reader still works most of the time.

  • My Galaxy Zflip5 has it in the power button on the side. Seems like a great option for all phones, not sure why more don’t go this route.

  • Am I the only one who could literally never get their pixel 3 rear sensor to work? I hated that thing with a passion since even with 2 or 3 prints trained to the same finger mine would never consistently unlock my phone. Since then I’ve had the 6 and 8 pro and both have been substantially faster to unlock than my 3, because even though the sensor is slower it doesn’t take 30 tries.
    Fwiw I do miss the rear swipe gesture but the double tap is ok if not too temperamental.

    • Your finger play a big role in your experience. It’s like your ear shape for earphones. Can be night and day.

  • The rear FPR on the 5 (and 2XL) were the best FPRs I used. The 8’s optical reader has been substantially better than the 7 for me, and the face unlock has been a godsend. I’d love to have a rear FPR, a front one (which could still be optical) and the face unlock. Safe to assume there will never be another rear FPR on a Pixel, so the best we can hope for is an ultrasonic one on the front and the face unlock on the 8.

  • By far, the biggest disappointment in upgrading from a Pixel 4a 5G to a Pixel 8 is the fingerprint reader. The physical sensor on the back of the old Pixel was everything I wanted, just as described in the article, it ALWAYS worked. The optical sensor in the P8 works reliably only when conditions and placement are absolutely ideal. Finger cold? Nope. Finger slightly off center? Nope. Finger not held for long enough? Nope. Dry skin? Nope. Not to mention the 1.21 jigowatt flash.

    What really amazes me is the fact that people have been complaining about this since the P6, yet Google insists on annoying buyers by continuing to use this half-baked tech. I assume these types of sensors are cheaper and the cost saving is more important than user experience.

    When it comes time to upgrade again, I will NOT buy another Pixel if they continue to put these lame sensors in their phones. No more optical sensors for me.

  • Ironically, I prefer the optical fingerprint of the Pixel 7/8 Pro over the ultrasonic on the S23 Ultra I had. I think it’s cause the ultrasonic works better if you don’t press the screen too hard. My muscle memory is optimized for the Pixel sensor ????????‍♂️. Also the face unlock on the Pixel works better than everything but the iPhone.

  • I definitely prefer a front-facing reader. I just never liked them on the back. Way more natural and easier for me to unlock with a front or side-mounted scanner.

    The back was always hard for me to find and it wasn’t natural to where I usually put my finger.

    I’m quite pleased with the on-screen variety. But then again I prefer the curved screen on the Pixel 6 and 7 Pro’s. I hate flat screens on these massive phones. The curve felt so nice in the hand and was way better for gestures.

    Unless they make a smaller “Pro” phone, give me curves and front-facing scanners all day long.

  • I’m completely happy with Samsung’s in screen fps, it’s solid for me. But even better is trusted devices, extend unlock when I’m wearing my WearOS watch, it’s inconsequential.

  • Prefer side mounted fingerprint scanners like in the Sony Xperia 1 V.
    Seems like only Chinese OEMs can get in— display fingerprint scanners right to date.

  • I totally agree! I despise the fingerprint reader on my Galaxy S22 Ultra because it won’t work half the time with a screen protector. If I’m honest, it didn’t even work that great without the screen protector, and you have to get your thumb in just the right place because the sensor area is so small and there’s nothing physical to guide your finger to the correct spot. At least it doesn’t blind me like an optical one though. I’d have to return that phone immediately! I have wished a thousand times I could go back to my old LG V20 with its physical fingerprint reader that was instantaneous and accurate almost 100% of the time. I think this will be the biggest deciding factor in my next smartphone purchase!

  • Just bring back the Soli face unlock so it’s on par with iPhone. Can unlock with your face in the dark and with sunglasses on. Hands down the best option. I miss it from my 4 XL. The 8 with secure face unlock is fine, but doesn’t work in the dark or with sunglasses.

    • No thanks. I tried the face unlock on the Pixel 4 XL as well as on the iPhone and I HATED it. I hate that it didn’t work well in direct sunlight or while wearing a hat and/or sunglasses(it NEVER worked for me) and I hate that it just unlocks by looking at it. I want unlocking to be an intentional act that only happens when I CHOOSE not a passive action that happens whenever I look at the phone. If they keep the fingerprint sensor and can make that kind of face unlock work without a bigger top bezel (like the Pixel 4 phones) or a huge cutout (like the iPhones) then fine. I can just ignore it. As far as I know that isn’t possible yet and I don’t want a huge top bezel or a cutout bigger than the one I already have to put up with for a feature I’m not even going to use anyways.

  • I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 (base model from 2023) as well as an S23 Ultra. I can’t believe the Tab S9 cheaped out on both the optical fingerprint reader and the sub-par buzzy vibration/haptic motor. They make Samsung’s high end tablets feel like budget models whenever you unlock your device or try to type with the on-screen keyboard.

    I’m not sure why Samsung didn’t use an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor and a better vibration/haptic motor on the Tab S9 series. They finally made all size tablets in the series sport an AMOLED screen but they overlooked those two other features. I guess they thought no one would care.

  • Got a pixel 7. Worst fingerprint reader ever.. before that my OnePlus 7T never had a problem. The pixel has like a 3 on 4 failure rate to read. I’m not buying any pixel or phone with optical reader never.

    • Yep. If people stop buying them, Google will be forced to do the right thing. Apparently, they won’t care until market pressure makes them care.

    • I think there’s something about each person’s finger.

      The physical Pixel readers had a 90% success rate for me, the ultrasonic ones a 99.9%.

      The old Lenovo square readers a 5% one, while everyone around me had 0 issues.

      With the new dash reader it’s more like 70%.

  • Side mounted is best, has all the advantages of an actual reader, without any of the disasvantages

    • The downside is if you’re a lefty like me. I have to stretch my index finger to hit the power or volume buttons on my S22+. I miss my volume rocker being on the left.

      • True, hadn’t though about that. Though i tend to use smaller phones like the s22. But right now i use a Z flip 5 and if i use it with my left hand, my index finger reaches the reader

      • As a lefty, this is the main reason I like the slim profile of the fold5 even though a lot of folks here say that the Pixel Fold’s wider form factor is better. The other main reason being it’s easy to slide in and out of my pockets.

    • No thanks, that means cases will need to greatly expose the button or be flush mount and annoying to press instead of having a nice tactile button.

      Front is still the best overall location.

      • I felt this way until I got my Z Fold 4 (and now Z Fold 5). Turns out I love the side mounted sensor. It would be absolutely pointless and will never happen but it’d be sweet if they had both options because I do enjoy an under screen ultrasonic sensor too lol.

  • My Pixel 7 Pro that I got from work has a screen sensor, my Z Fold 5 has a physical sensor in the power button, I can’t tell the difference they both always work, and are about as accurate. Maybe I’m in the minority here.

    • No, the minority is just much louder since people that have no issues don’t tend to write about it on Internet

  • Physical sensor all the way. I’m going to resist leaving the Pixel 5 until there’s an alternative with a backside fingerprint reader.

    • Having upgraded from a beloved 4a 5G to a P8, I can honestly say that the gains don’t outweigh the losses. The P8 has less battery life than the 2.5 year old Pixel and the FP reader was an order of magnitude better on the old phone. The speed and performance gains are noticeable, but not significant. I upgraded because of the perfect storm of losing updates and a great deal from my provider. You are not wrong to consider keeping your P5.

      • Right. I similarly tried the 6a for a week and came to the same conclusion. Battery life and seamless finger print detection is more important than anything new that I saw. I returned to the Pixel5a after that. It was after that that I resolved to resist upgrading until a back-of-the-phone fingerprint reader was available. I was then offered a 7a for almost $nothing$ and turned it down.

      • Kinda same here; just went from my P5 to the P8 and the biggest issue for me is the larger size and additional weight, which I was afraid of. Despite only being .5cm taller, it’s definitely noticeable and considerably heavier as well, which is mostly an issue for me when I’m running and cycling with my phone as the added weight makes it bounce around more on my arm strap and more awkward to handle when I need to as well.

        The FP scanner is a huge downgrade as well, as I used it to swipe down my notifications and toggles constantly and miss that dearly on the P8, as well as just the overall accuracy of it. Battery life seems maybe a tad worse than the P5 from when it was new, but also takes considerably longer to charge on a standard 15w charger due to the larger battery it needs because of how inefficient Tensor is.

        The only reason I upgraded was to keep getting software updates and my daughter needed a phone now that she’s in high school and doing activities after school, so she’s getting the old P5. Otherwise I would probably have held out for the P9 on the hope that they finally drop Tensor or go to a non-Exynos based chip at least.

  • Before using my pixel 7 I was using essential ph1 and Nexus 6p before that. Both had the fps and both worked way better than the optical on the 7. The fps on the pixel 7 has gotten a little better since I got it but nowhere close to the rear fps reliability

  • I do miss the rear FPS on my 2XL. The screen-based FPS that I had on the OP7 Pro, Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro had nothing on the 2XL. I would LOVE to have a physical button on the back of a phone again.

  • I don’t know what you are talking about. The Pixel 5 fingerprint reader was terrible. I was always having to clean it to get it to read. Same with the Pixel 2 XL I had.

    I have zero issues using the fingerprint reader on my Pixel 7 Pro. It works EVERY SINGLE TIME.

  • I’ve been using the Pixel 8 Pro for the last few weeks and I’ll be going back to Samsung when the 24 Ultra launches, and a portion of that decision is related to the fingerprint reader. I rarely had issues with the 22 Ultra’s reader, and at night it’s much easier to use than the face unlock.

  • 100%, the fingerprint reader on the back was far superior to the substandard sensor we have to deal with now.

    Oh, and I still miss my headphone jack. Bring that back too.

  • I imagine I’m in the minority on this but I never cared for rear-mounted print readers, I always found them slightly more finicky to find by feel the ones on the front of a phone, even the ultrasonic reader on my S23+. I don’t think I’d consider a rear-mounted design at this point.

  • I love my side-mounted fingerprint sensor that’s over the power button, it’s very natural, and fast.

  • Just another reason to keep eeking out my Pixel 5…but I’m rather surprised the Pixel 8 is still using an optical reader instead of ultrasonic. Jeesh.

    • Yep, especially considering the recurring complaints that started with the P6. If the P8 reader has improved performance over the two previous gens, as claimed, those older readers must have been terrible.

      • They were, and I nor my family notice no difference from Pixel 6 to 8. Won’t hold my breath for Pixel 9 improving, despite what the reviews will be claiming. Total garbage

  • The Pixel 8 is an improvement on the 7 but still nowhere near as good as the physical sensor on the 5. You want a screen protector? Forget about it.
    I also miss being able to swipe the fingerprint sensor to open notifications.

    • I went from a Pixel 5 to a Pixel 8 Pro. After I adjusted to the under the screen sensor taking about a half a second longer I haven’t had any issues. That took about a day. Since then the success rate is about the same as the physical sensor on my Pixel 5. The only thing that makes it worse is the fact that with the Pixel 5 I could find the sensor just be feeling for it which meant I could just feel for it as I took my phone out of my pocket. On the flipside the under the screen sensor allows me to unlock my phone while it’s sitting on a table or my desk at work without having to pick up the phone. So that is nice. So kind of 50/50 on that.

      I did like the swipe to open notifications but I don’t miss it that much.

    • Huh. I’ve always been confused by how worked-up folks get about this. Both the Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 scanners worked flawlessly for me. It’d never really occurred to me that I don’t use a screen protector and that’s (perhaps) why.

      I’m glad face unlock is back.

  • I’ve grown accustomed to the Power Button mounted FPR on the Pixel Fold (although it’s a lil awkward at times) but I definitely would not have said “No” to it being on the back. Face Unlock works ok but I’d rather have it be secure enough for banking apps, etc..
    After having the Pixel 7 Pro, I’d definitely take an ultrasonic FPR or Pixel 8’s Face Unlock on the Pixel Fold 2.

    • I’ve used power mounted fingerprint sensors on tablets and I didn’t like them. They are too narrow so they miss read a lot if don’t have your finger aligned well. It also requires that any case you have to not have the power button covered which makes the power button lower than the surface of the case. It also means you can’t turn on the screen with the power button without unlocking the phone.

  • Between my Nexus 6P, Pixel 2XL, 4XL, 6 Pro, and current 8 Pro, I’ve had by FAR the best luck with the 6 and 8, with the 8 being mostly flawless. My 6 was fine, even if it wasn’t lightning fast. Physical readers were never reliable for me.

  • It’s so frustrating when it’s too dark to unlock by face and the fingerprint reader is being unresponsive on my Pixel 8 Pro. Or when it does actually face unlock, how it doesn’t automatically open my home screen and I still have to swipe up.

      • If you have that option enable then you always bypass the lock screen. I hate that. That’s always been one of my biggest complaints about face unlock (other than it not working very well). Sometimes I just want to interact with the lock screen but not unlock. Other times I want to unlock but don’t want an extra step.

          • If I understand your question right then yes. That’s exactly what I was able to do with phones with a physical fingerprint sensor on the back. When I take my phone out of my pocket I know exactly what I want to do with it at that time. I want to make the decision at that moment if I unlock or not. If I’m doing something I can do from the lock screen then I push the power button when I take the phone out of my pocket. It doesn’t bypass the lock screen or unlock at all. I can interact with the lock screen. If I want to unlock then I put my finger on the sensor as I take it out of my pocket. So by the time I’m looking at the screen it’s unlocked and I didn’t even have to see the lock screen. I don’t have to have an extra step to get past the lock screen when I do want to unlock and I don’t have to unlock and skip the lock screen when I don’t want to unlock.

    • It’s not fine for many people. Also be happy that you apparently live in a world of bright, evenly distributed light. I say that because nearly any indoor lighting that isn’t equal to sitting by a window is a wasted unlock try for me.

      It amazes me how some people have a completely different user experience with these phones.

      • Agreed, my face unlock is totally worthless after sunset (less than 5% success rate). I don’t keep my house at the brightness of a surgical operating room all night. Plus the fact that face unlock is poorly implemented (again). Anytime an app uses biometric authentication, the face unlock usually activates first before I get to the finger print sensor, so then I’m required to press the “ok” button or whatever it is after it face unlocks. If I use the fingerprint sensor though, there isn’t a second step of having to click another button to proceed. So face unlock is only useful during the daytime and only for unlocking the phone’s lock screen but not biometric authentication in apps.

      • That’s why they should use IR… but then that eats into profits. My laptop / surface / ipad / iphones all use face ID just fine and don’t depend on my skin being just the right level of moisture.

      • Yes, because you have normal users and then people who lie and can’t prove any of their so-called issues.
        I’ve been using Pixel 6 since launch and the only time the fingerprint scanner doesn’t work is when my finger is too dry or too wet. But some redditors, of course, say that they can’t get it to work at all, which is just a straight lie.

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