And the immediate reaction by consumers will likely be a shrug.
“What can you do?”
The problem is, that apathy shouldn’t be a surprise. We don’t have much room to “vote with our wallets” these days. The reality of the tech market, these supposed “upgrades” happen way too quickly for consumers to react. Gadgets sales paced out over years from individual consumers don’t guide manufacturing decisions.
This week Samsung stumbled into a bit of a security issue on the Galaxy S10.
The in-display fingerprint sensor can apparently be unlocked by ANY finger. I discussed this on the #SGGQA podcast while the story was fresh, and the general sentiment from Samsung fans was that this had to be a case of user error. We’re getting confirmation now that this is a flaw in the current software from Samsung. Users are starting to test this flaw, and it has nothing to do with improper setup or using Non-Samsung approved accessories. BBC confirms Samsung will release a software patch for the problem.
Here’s a video of a Galaxy S10 owner on Twitter demonstrating the problem, freshly training a thumbprint, and then bypassing the fingerprint lock with a different finger.
지문인식 등록 과정부터 촬영해보았습니다… 어이가 없네요 pic.twitter.com/sPISwuKYgi
— StaLight (@Sta_Light_) October 16, 2019
My hypothesis during the podcast was that this was similar to the issues facing the Nokia 9. To speed up the performance of the fingerprint sensor, you reduce the accuracy of the scan. The Nokia 9 could be unlocked by a gum wrapper pressed against the screen. It would seem my guess during the podcast wasn’t too far off the mark.
People complained about slow performance, so the security hardware was updated for speed. Security was bypassed for convenience.
This is another example in a chain of recent smartphone design decisions that really suck all the fun out of being a tech enthusiast. Again, “vote with your wallet” is a dying concept.
We’ve got pretty good market data that consumers are trying to get more use out of their gadgets. Phones are expensive, and are somewhat mandatory lifestyle accessories in this age. The average range of phone ownership has increased year over year. Today, average phone lifespan is somewhere around 2.75 years, depending on the analyst you ask.
If an “AVERAGE” consumer is shopping a new Samsung today, it’s VERY likely they’re currently using a Galaxy S7.
Think about all the things we’ve lost on premium phones over the last three years. Off the top of my head: removable batteries, headphone jacks, IR blasters, alternate (not glass) materials for the backs of our phones. We’re chipping away at flat screens and higher resolution displays. Most companies have moved to in-display fingerprint sensors or face unlock.
It’s not to say our phones haven’t improved in other areas, but slightly faster benchmark scores and improved camera auto modes don’t quite feel like enough to balance the scales. Worse, some features like wireless charging likely reduce the overall longevity of the battery by running it hotter. Don’t even get me started on reverse wireless charging on phones…
Year over year, our phones become more expensive, more fragile, less practical, and require more accessories.
Consumers are holding onto their phones longer? Let’s make them out of glass, and force a case purchase! They’re STILL trying to use them longer? Let’s curve the edges of the screen and glue the battery into the frame! People don’t buy headphones very often? Let’s make using cabled audio as painful as possible!
None of these recent manufacturing decisions were dictated by consumers. If you have a phone from 2018, chances are REALLY good that some features you currently enjoy won’t be on your phone when you’re ready to upgrade.
When Apple got rid of the headphone jack, no rational consumer was happy about that. But consumers had to shrug that off, and bought more expensive accessories, to stay on Team Apple. “What can you do?”
Samsung’s current fingerprint issues highlight the design problems we face in a “form over function” environment. If a part of a phone purchase is based on an emotional high, and we want to see cool new futuristic tech EVERY YEAR, then it makes sense to see this kind of feature pushed to market before it’s ready to replace an established solution. The major issue we face is how the market reacts to these kinds of problems.
Now be honest, if the headlines on a faulty in-display fingerprint sensor were linked to LG, Motorola, or HTC, would tech enthusiasts be chill and dismissive? Would they shrug off these issues? I’m fairly certain this kind of fault would be declared a “deal breaker”. A security fault like this would be used as evidence as to why a consumer should only buy products from a popular brand.
Just to recap, Samsung’s face unlock is less secure than Apple’s or the LG G8’s, and currently, their fingerprint sensor can be bypassed by a $3 gel screen protector. I’m feeling a LOT better about recommending the Galaxy S10e as my top pick for Samsung fans this year…
In sharing this story on social media and on the podcast, I’ve gotten numerous replies defending Samsung.
- It’s the price of progress.
- It’s good this was discovered because now Samsung can fix it for the S11.
- It’s fine going back to a password.
- Who’s really trying to break into your phone?
- MY Galaxy NEVER lags, (whoops I mean) MY Galaxy doesn’t have THIS problem.
I’ve gotten a handful of questions from concerned consumers about upgrading from a Galaxy S7 or S8. Should they get an S9? A Note 9?
There couldn’t possibly be any other options to examine. No other brands exist. Maybe if we keep buying from the same brands, but just complain in a handful of frustrated tweets, that’ll fix the issue?
Shrug. What can you do?