Indeed, over the last two weeks with the $1,000 Galaxy S10 Plus, I've opted to use the phone's facial recognition instead of its fingerprint sensor to unlock the phone faster and more reliably.
That's unfortunate, because fingerprint sensors are significantly more secure than the Galaxy S10's facial recognition. I'm essentially sacrificing security because the Galaxy S10's fingerprint sensor isn't quite there yet.
Meanwhile, I tried the Galaxy S10e's regular capacitive fingerprint sensor, and it's far more reliable and faster than the flagship Galaxy S10's in-display sensor.
The old-fashioned capacitive fingerprint sensor on the right edge of the Galaxy S10e unlocks the phone almost instantaneously, and I know exactly where to place my finger because it has guiding grooves that let me know where the sensor is.
I should admit that the S10e's regular fingerprint sensor wasn't 100% perfect, mostly when unlocking the phone in my hands.
I should also note that traditional capacitive fingerprint sensors don't handle wet or dirty fingers as well as the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in the Galaxy S10.
Still, the S10e's sensor is significantly better than the S10 and S10 Plus's in-display fingerprint sensor, as you'll see below.
Meanwhile, theres no easy way to tell exactly where the Galaxy S10s in-display fingerprint sensor actually is, which is incredibly frustrating.
I feel like I've seen the "no match" notification more often than the sensor has unlocked the phone.
To bring up the visual guide for the in-display fingerprint sensor, you need to tap the screen, which makes the unlocking process much slower than it is on the Galaxy S10e.
Even with the always-on display feature turned on, it takes a relatively long time for the visual guide to appear, if it shows up at all.
Thankfully, this is something that can be fixed with a software update. We just have to hope that Samsung includes improvements for its in-display fingerprint sensor in its upcoming updates.
Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
The Galaxy S10's fingerprint sensor is a major disappointment in its current state, but it can be addressed with a software update.
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