It looked like Apple and Samsung would each launch their latest flagship smartphones in the coming months with a built-in fingerprint scanner, but a new report suggests that Samsung has had to cancel the feature in the Galaxy Note 3.
Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S will become the company's latest flagship smartphone. Apple will reportedly ship the smartphone with a built-in fingerprint scanner as a feature to entice new and current iPhone owners to upgrade, since the 5S is expected to retain the same design of the current iPhone 5. Recent rumors have suggested the iPhone 5S will be in short supply when it launches due to issues with its fingerprint scanner. Apple isn't the only smartphone maker planning a biometic reader on its smartphone. Samsung was also expected to include a fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy Note 3's physical home button, but it looks like Samsung is going to let Apple have that exclusive new feature.
According to a new report from ET News, Samsung will not be able to include a fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy Note 3 as planned. It claims that Samsung's contract partner for the sensors has not been able to produce enough in time for the Galaxy Note 3's September launch, so the company has been forced to cancel this feature.
The latest Samsung Galaxy Note 3 rumors claim the phablet will have a 5.7-inch 1920 x 1080 Full HD display, will be powered by a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, use Samsung's newly-announced 3GB RAM modules, pack a 4G LTE-Advanced radio that can produce speeds of up to 180Mbps, run on the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, and include enhanced S-Pen features.
Samsung is expected to officially unveil the Galaxy Note 3 at IFA in Berlin, in September. It has used the past two shows to announce the original and Galaxy Note 2.
The company that started the phablet craze is going to see some worthy contenders from rival manufacturers, as Sony and HTC will be releasing their first phablets this year. Sony has already announced its 6.3-inch Xperia ZU, which includes a 1080p full HD display with technology used in its Bravia HD televisions. HTC will be launching the HTC Max, which is expected to take everything that's great about the HTC One, including the same anodized aluminum unibody case and front facing dual-stereo speakers and add a 6-inch full HD display. Things are certainly going to heat up in the phablet world very soon.
As with all rumors, take this one with a grain of salt. We'll have to wait and see what Samsung officially announces in September.
