‘Urgent Update’ for Galaxy S10 Enhances In-Display Biometrics

“While a notification for Samsung users framed it as an ‘urgent new software update’, it didn’t go into detail about what exactly the patch would do beyond a cryptic note reading ‘Biometrics security patch – Fingerprints’.”

Samsung has significantly upgraded the fingerprint scanning software of its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S10, and its plus-sized sibling, the Galaxy S10+, according to a new report.

The update was launched through the Galaxy Store app last Thursday. While a notification for Samsung users framed it as an ‘urgent new software update’, it didn’t go into detail about what exactly the patch would do beyond a cryptic note reading ‘Biometrics security patch – Fingerprints’.

That might have led many to conclude that it’s a response to a spoofing claim from earlier this month, in which a hacker said he was able to fool the Galaxy S10’s ultrasonic fingerprint sensor with a 3D print of a fingerprint image captured from a wine glass. But in any case, the update has markedly improved the fingerprint scanning system’s performance, according to a report from GSMArena.

“We noticed a tremendous improvement in performance of the fingerprint sensor post update,” the site said. “Prior to update the sensor was slow and unreliable. However, the update has made it nearly instantaneous and also work reliably over multiple unlocks.”

That response is good news for Samsung, with in-display fingerprint scanning having been a key selling point for the Galaxy S10, and having made its way to Samsung’s mid-tier devices in the ensuing months. But it remains to be seen whether any more spoofing claims will arise in the wake of this patch.

Source: GSMArena