In just a few short years, in-display fingerprint scanners have gone from the exciting cutting edge to being taken for granted. Button-mounted security, by comparison, just isn’t seen as that exciting, but we’re actually living through the technology’s golden age. Having spent time with the Asus Zenfone 9 and Sony Xperia 1 IV, I’m now convinced that side-mounted fingerprint scanners are the superior implementation, at least currently. Let me explain.
They’re faster, for one. Miles faster. Not just in terms of unlocking but enrolling too. The Zenfone 9’s scanner is so quick I physically can’t take my finger away fast enough for it to fail. We rated the Poco F4’s side-mounted scanner really highly in this regard too. Sony’s Xperia 1 IV is not quite as snappy but is still nippier and more accurate than so many of the in-display scanners I’ve used in recent years.