I feel like the main reason it’s a big deal is the fact that the front-facing fingerprint scanner sucks ass.
Yup, I’d prefer a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone than what we have today
Or power button. Even the Samsung screen sensors haven’t been as reliable as the good old dedicated ones.
Same! I miss being able to use it for swipe actions like I could on my note 9 a few years ago too…
Me too. Back facing fingerprint sensors were so ergonomic and responsive. Phone makers literally unanimously decided to throw away the best option for all kinds of sub optimal alternatives.
That coupled with gestures on the sensor is absolute goat
I’ve been reluctant to give up my 4a because of the rear fingerprint sensor. Now that we’ve hit October, I’m trying to figure out what to do.
I have a pixel 6 pro and the on screen fingerprint scanner is nothing but frustrating.
October? Is that a reference to OS updates?
Go Lineage, Pixels are super easy to update. And then root, so you can run Kernel Adiutor and make it really fast while still having better battery life.
I have a 2018 phone that people think is new because of Lineage and KA.
Several Pixels are hitting EOL right now. The 4a received its last update in August. The 5 loses support in 2 days. The 4a 5G loses support next month.
I have a Pixel 7 Pro. I came from an S22 Ultra (ultrasonic) and I find the one on the P7 Pro to only be marginally worse. Instead of 95/100 it’s probably closer to 90/100. The most annoying thing for me is that it blasts like which (at night) can be annoying. But have you used it personally? I’m interested if there’s something that makes it noticeably worse for some people.
I have a pixel 6. In addition to the occasional missed swipes in general, which are annoying and count for something compared to the 100% instant unlock rate I had with my rear scanner, I feel like if I’m not careful about the exact angle at which I tap my thumb, or the exact position where I center my thumb, it registers wrong. When I hold my phone naturally, my thumb is positioned wrong, it comes in a little too sideways to register. So after I get it wrong a couple of times, I need to carefully hold my phone in an awkward position or bend my thumb in a weird way to make sure I hit the exact right spot at the exact right angle. And then sometimes it’s still wrong, so I try to change the position and use a different finger. And with all that effort, I’ve still gotten locked out of my phone a couple of times.
None of that shit with the rear scanner, it just works, my phone is always unlocked before I see it.
Well, I can’t argue with the rear scanner being better. I picked up my Nexus 6P the other day and it still works perfectly. Long live rear fingerprints!
They should have just used the Qualcomm ultrasonic sensor that Samsung uses under their displays. It is brilliant and even works through some types of screen protectors, and some types of (medical) gloves. But Google seems hell-bent on never using Qualcomm components in their phones anymore, to the detriment of their users.
Same here, every time I make a comment on this topic I get shot back that the fingerprint reader on phone X is wonderful. In my experience, the only fingerprint readers that consistently worked were those on the back of the phone. In either case, I’ll take face unlock any day over a fingerprint reader. Just another thing that Apple got right and then never looked back. 
Still disappointing that it isn’t using a proper IR illuminator. Apple’s Face ID is still better, and the DyNaMiC iSlAnD doesn’t take up that much space. I’ve adjusted to having a fingerprint sensor on my Pixel 6 Pro, but the thing is so much slower.
Keep in mind you don’t have to have a slow fingerprint sensor, Google just managed to fuck that up
I’ve never understood these comments mine opens just as fast as my Samsung
Yeah, I’ve heard this one is particularly bad. It’s broadly fine but it is definitely slower than the one in my old OnePlus 7 Pro.
I paid $250 for the phone refurbished so I have a hard time complaining too much.
As a OnePlus 7 Pro user, it’s so fast, My ideal phone would have a fingerprint reader on the on/off button, seems so logical to do so
The BEST place by far is on the back. With the Pixel 2, I could have the phone unlocked before I even take it out of my pocket because I could place my finger in the exact right spot.
It also served as a shortcut to pull down the notification shade.
Same as the s9+ and I loved it, I miss it so much
Pixel 4 was, and it was better than Apple’s implementation.
It’s crazy that Google did it once and beat Apple. Then they dropped it.
Owned a 6 and a 7 pro, 7 made substantial speed upgrades
Happy to see it return. I would have really missed secure face unlock going from a 4XL to 8 Pro. Though I doubt the 8 Pro will work in complete darkness like the 4XL could.
I don’t understand the recent trends of ditching the upper camera bezel and doing questionable things like cutouts, islands, etc. that disturb the dimensions of the screen in odd ways. Did people really dislike having a dedicated area just for the camera and other sensors? I’d rather have a complete uninterrupted screen and upper bezel.
If it doesn’t have ir illuminators how it can’t be fooled by a video playing back on a tablet? AI isn’t magic, there’s no way it can distinguish a properly made video playing on another screen. Even an human can’t distinguish that in that super short time
Example: make a video recording from the front camera of someone doomscrolling. Then play this on another screen, perfectly parallel, and at a distance where bezels can’t be seen.
That’s a pretty unlikely scenario though. Someone would be better off just selling your phone at that point.
Because how is a thief going to get a perfect video of you to play to the camera?