When Samsung ditched the physical home button, they had to figure out where to put the fingerprint scanner. We're not at the point where we can embed the sensor in the screen itself, so Samsung opted for a rear-mounted scanner.
Lots of other companies have gone that route, but they put the scanner in a sensible location. Samsung's fingerprint scanner location on the Galaxy S8 is, for lack of a better word, trash.
Instead of placing the sensor in the back middle where you finger rests, Samsung put it next to the camera, making it nearly impossible to reach and forcing everyone to use iris scanning or passcodes to unlock their device. However, it does look like they've learned their lesson, at least if BGR's latest renders are accurate.
The renders show a Galaxy S9 in a very bulky case, but we can still see that the design is incredibly similar to the Galaxy S8. Most of the change comes on the back with a dual-camera system, the LED flash below that, and the fingerprint scanner below that, making a much more sensible arrangement of lenses and sensors.
We know the Galaxy S9 is coming, and it'll probably be around March or April of next year. It's definitely a little early to start seeing leaks and renders like this, so take it with a grain of salt. If it ends up being true, though, it'll definitely be a smart move on Samsung's part.
source: BGR
