Modern smartphones are increasingly equipped with a fingerprint sensor. It aims to secure sensitive data contained on the device. But is a fingerprint scanner on a smartphone as useful as it seems? Let's try to find out.
An ignorant person gets the impression that buying a device with a fingerprint sensor will cause him only positive emotions. But practice shows that this is not always the case. In today's article, we'll explain why some people don't use a fingerprint scanner - why they find it useless. But it is impossible not to notice that the sensor has a number of advantages - we will also talk about them.
The essence of the sensor
Under the words "fingerprint sensor" we mean a small scanner that recognizes the pattern on the skin of the finger applied to it. Previously, such a sensor was too expensive, and therefore it was used only in banks, as well as in some government and military institutions. And the dimensions of the scanner were too large, because of which none of the smartphone manufacturers even thought about its implementation. But technologies are developing - since about 2015, all flagships began to be equipped with this element. Moreover, the cost of a fingerprint scanner has dropped dramatically, which is why it began to appear in not the most expensive devices.
Pantech GI100 is the first mobile phone with a fingerprint scanner
First of all, the fingerprint sensor is designed to protect the contents of the smartphone from prying eyes. If another person picks up your device, then they will not be able to go beyond the lock screen. The fingerprint of any of his fingers will be different, and therefore he will not be able to unlock the device. In theory, the scanner can be fooled. But this is such a laborious process that only special services can cope with it, and even then not always.
It was with the iPhone 5S that the mass introduction of fingerprint sensors began
Also, such a sensor is used to secure payments. If earlier a password was entered to confirm the payment, now you do not need to remember it - just put your finger on the scanner. It is very comfortable! In the same Play Market, people do not include a password payment confirmation, as they simply forget it. As a result, then they are faced with the fact that their children sometimes completely unconsciously make many purchases of paid applications and games. Using the fingerprint scanner, such a problem is solved in the root!
Basic advantages
Let's find out what the smartphones with the fingerprint scanner are good.
- As already mentioned above, your child will not be able to buy something unconsciously to buy in Google Play, because for this It will take to attach your finger to the sensor. Of course, a smart child will bypass the problem when you use your hand when you sleep. But at such age it is better to provide their own tablet or smartphone, whose account will not be tied by a bank card.
- Unlocking time with fingerprint is significantly reduced. Surprisingly, some dactyloscopic sensors work very quickly. Much faster than if you were spent with your finger across the screen.
- Strying person will not be able to access the information contained in the memory of the smartphone. And if you use the encryption function, the attacker will be unavailable and the memory card, even if it inserts it into the card reader.
- In Android 6.0, support for the dactyloscopic sensor is embedded at the level of the operating system. This means that you can use a fingerprint in a variety of applications. For example, it can be done in the browser, authorized on sites without entering a login and password. Again, this is the perfect option for those people who do not want to keep many different passwords in memory - fingerprint replaces them all.
Disadvantages of the sensor
Of course, like any new technology, fingerprint scanner It has a number of shortcomings.
- In low-cost smartphones, budget sensors are embedded, belonging to the first generations of this technology. They process information sufficiently long - sometimes up to one or even one and a half seconds. There are cases when the imprint is not recognized from the first time. If your device is at the disposal just such a sensor, then you will quickly get used to use it for unlocking it. Already in a few days you will prefer other ways, as they allow less time to spend the process.
- The fingerprint scanner does not need a tablet if they use several family members. Of course, modern sensors allow you to store fingerprints of several fingers. But even with this possibility, problems can arise when a child wants to use the device. Each unlock will require placing your finger on the scanner. And it’s not a fact that little toddler boys will be consistently recognized. If the device is intended for the whole family, then in most cases the fingerprint scanner will be disabled, as it introduces additional complications.
- Not only advantages lie in the fact that another person cannot use your smartphone. If something happens to you, then people who happen to be nearby, the medical team or the police will not be able to call your relatives because they simply will not be able to unlock your phone. However, no one wants to think about all sorts of troubles.
- Apple smartphones store all fingerprints in encrypted form. But on devices with Android, until some time, the situation was much worse. All these data were stored in local memory, in an unprotected form. Some hackers, with a strong desire, can gain access to this information. Fortunately, in new smartphones this problem is solved.
Summing up
Some people may find the above disadvantages far-fetched. But actually it is not. Although no one will argue with the fact that smartphones with a fingerprint scanner have more advantages. It’s not for nothing that Google has implemented fingerprint sensor support at the deepest level into its operating system. It is possible that even the most cheap smartphones will be equipped with it in the future.
In the meantime, be sure to read the reviews for the device you want to purchase. If it is equipped with an old sensor, then users will definitely note the fact of a long unlock with a fingerprint. In this case, it is better to consider some other model, a little more modern.
Popular smartphones with a fingerprint sensor
It is assumed that phones with a fingerprint scanner will become cheaper in the future, and therefore devices without this sensor will practically disappear. Yes, even now the list of such smartphones is quite large. Here are just a few devices:
- Apple iPhone 7 is one of the most expensive smartphones. Its popularity is so high that it makes no sense to talk about it in detail.
- Apple iPhone 7 Plus - this smartphone has a display diagonal increased from 4.7 to 5.5 inches. Also, the device can boast a double camera.
- Xiaomi Redmi 4 Pro - a relatively inexpensive apparatus with a five-mounted screen, the resolution of which is 1920 x 1080 pixels. The width of the scope on the sides of the display is minimized.
- Xiaomi Redmi 3S is an inexpensive smartphone equipped with an HD display and a 13 megapixel camera. There is support for LTE-Advanced.
- Samsung Galaxy S7 EDGE - a device that is sold worldwide with huge circulations. People like both the specifications and the amoled display bent along the edges. The smartphone has an excellent camera, the diaphragm of which is revealed to the value of F / 1.7.
- Samsung Galaxy S7 - the second flagship of the South Korean company. Its 5.1-inch display is flat - angles are not curved. The rest of the device does not differ at all from its fellow with the asscription "Edge".
- Apple iPhone SE - a budget "apple" product, if it can be called this at a cost of 25-30 thousand rubles. This is one of the most compact smartphones among those equipped with decent characteristics. It is upset here only the lack of a memory card slot.
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is a device with a 13 megapixel chamber (F / 2.0 diaphragm) and three gigabytes of RAM. Battery capacity is brought to an impressive 4100 mAh.
- Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) - the best value for money, if we consider South Korean smartphones. Unlike the predecessor, the device received water and improved chamber (resolution 16 MP and aperture F / 1.9).
- Meizu M3 Note - the device present on the market has already been long enough. But it is endowed with quite worthy characteristics, in connection with which the smartphone will not lose its relevance for a long time.
- MEIZU MX6 - functions using Android 6.0. It has a good chamber, a screen with a full HD resolution, a powerful titer processor and a large number of wireless modules.
- ASUS Zenfone 3 Ze520KL - a device with an increased up to 424 PPI pixel density. Built on the basis of the eight-year chipset from Qualcomm, and even the Wi-Fi 802.11AC is included in the number of wireless technologies supported by a smartphone.
- Huawei P9 Lite - This device was created based on the eight-core processor Hisilicon. It has a 13 megapixel camera, which is capable of writing video with a frequency of 60 frames / s.
- Vernee Thor is one of the most inexpensive 4G support devices and a fingerprint scanner on the rear panel. At the same time, the creators did not save on either the amount of RAM (3 GB) or the processor (8 cores).
- OnePlus 3T is a phablet with a huge amount of memory. Everything is in order with him and with all the other characteristics. Many specialized publications consider it the best Chinese smartphone.
