It looks like Samsung’s next flagship tablet won’t have a traditional fingerprint sensor, suggesting the company is opting for some more sophisticated biometric security to replace it.

All we have to go by are a couple of images leaked to the press, depicting a tablet device with no traditional home button, nor a fingerprint sensor visible on its front or rear. It’s possible that the Galaxy Tab S4 will include a fingerprint sensor in one of its side buttons. But with recent reports suggesting that the next phone in its Galaxy S line will feature an in-display fingerprint sensor – and that multiple Samsung rivals are also pioneering this kind of technology – it seems more likely that Samsung will go that route for its big new tablet.

Of course, the image of the front of the device does include what looks like an iris scanning on its top bezel, so Samsung’s flagship biometric modality may end up being the key authentication mechanism for the Galaxy Tab S4. Paired with sophisticated facial recognition, it could enable secure authentication with no need for the user to do anything other than hold their device in front of their face.

What seems more certain is speculation about the device’s other specs, which are expected to include a Snapdragon 836 processor, a 7,300mAh battery, and a 13MP rear-facing camera with an 8MP front-facing camera.

As for the biometric issue, it should become more clear on August 9th, with Samsung announcing that it will launch a new premium Galaxy device on that date.

Sources: Android Police, GSMArena