No fingerprint scanner yet for Samsung

Fingerprint scanning technology – as found rather unimpressively on the new iPhones – has been quite the hot topic the last few weeks, with everything from iOS flaws to humorous applications of the security feature occupying our attention with fingerprint scanner manufacturers - one that Apple had bought outright and another that Samsung was working closely with. While Apple managed to come through in the end, it may not have done them any favors. Samsung, on the other hand, don't look like they're in any particular rush.
Some consider the fingerprint scanner a breakthrough security addition, other see it as a flimsy sales gimmick easy to bypass, while even more think it never took off on laptops for good reason. Either way, it has been one of the key selling points for the new iPhones, even if its many flaws have already been discovered. Meanwhile, Samsung has had the code supporting a fingerprint scanner buried in their devices for ages, since the S3 in fact, but it looks like they won't be doing anything major with the technology for a while yet, with their scanner partner a year behind Apple's in the delivery of a stable fingerprint scanner.

We never officially admitted that Samsung was weighing the fingerprint system and Knox for Galaxy Note 3 for security functions. We are not yet developing the technology. - unnamed Samsung official

The Note 3 came and went without a fingerprint scanner and Samsung has now officially stated they are ''not yet developing the technology.'' A fingerprint scanner will of course appear in future Samsung devices, but it may be a little slower to roll out than you might expect. If the response to Apple's inclusion of the TouchID scanner turns out to be generally negative it would make sense for Samsung to avoid it altogether. But if the scanner becomes a smartphone must-have, Samsung will find themselves playing catch up.

In the mobile sector, Samsung has been a fast follower instead of being a risk taker. It is waiting until its rival Apple opens up the market to some extent. - Yoon Jung-sun, Hyundai Securities

What do you think of the technology? Do you want it in your next Samsung?