Android

Yup, I'd prefer a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone than what we have today

I have a Pixel 7 Pro. I came from an S22 Ultra (ultrasonic) and I find the one on the P7 Pro to only be marginally worse. Instead of 95/100 it's probably closer to 90/100. The most annoying thing for me is that it blasts like which (at night) can be annoying. But have you used it personally? I'm interested if there's something that makes it noticeably worse for some people.

I'm not sure what I've done differently, but my under screen reader on my 6 pro is more reliable than the back reader on my pixel 3.

Obviously my one data point doesn't negate the vast swathes of people who do have issues, but for me I may not even elect to use face unlock. Seems unnecessarily insecure.

They should have just used the Qualcomm ultrasonic sensor that Samsung uses under their displays. It is brilliant and even works through some types of screen protectors, and some types of (medical) gloves. But Google seems hell-bent on never using Qualcomm components in their phones anymore, to the detriment of their users.

Same here, every time I make a comment on this topic I get shot back that the fingerprint reader on phone X is wonderful. In my experience, the only fingerprint readers that consistently worked were those on the back of the phone. In either case, I’ll take face unlock any day over a fingerprint reader. Just another thing that Apple got right and then never looked back. 

Keep in mind you don't have to have a slow fingerprint sensor, Google just managed to fuck that up

Pixel 4 was, and it was better than Apple's implementation.

It's crazy that Google did it once and beat Apple. Then they dropped it.

Owned a 6 and a 7 pro, 7 made substantial speed upgrades

I've found that going back to a plastic film cover instead of glass made the fingerprint scanner work every time. Having said that, I'd much rather have a glass screen protector. This new design forced me to buy a different screen protector and case style than I'm used to, and imo, my case / screen protector is a downgrade. I usually buy cases with built in screen protectors, but every one of those I tried were shit with the fingerprint reader. This, like so many of Google's 'innovations' is a terrible idea. They've clearly run out of ideas on what to do next with hardware on smartphones. I just want my 2011 phone with 2023 performance / OS. Everything they've done after that has been a downgrade.

It seems useless if I was forced to unlock my phone by someone violent, like the police.

My life seems a great deal more boring and uneventful than most people around these parts.

Pins and passwords is something people can glance at to find out what it is. And there's cameras all around. It's why I preferred finger or face unlock in public, and worst case scenario I can turn off phone to require a pin.

I feel like a short password is a much bigger security risk.

There are ways to disable the fingerprint scan in the moment. Different phones have different norms around this, but one universal option: pick a finger to not code into your phone. When a cop asks you to unlock your phone, say okay, use that finger five times in a row, oh no, you're locked out, man, this fingerprint reader sure is finnicky, oh well!

If you're that concerned, if you power your phone off, biometrics will not unlock the phone after it's turned back on, only the pin. So if you find yourself in a predicament where you think someone will try to unlock your phone without your consent via biometrics, as, long as you turn your phone off before they get it, they won't be able to get in without a PIN.

I just disable fingerprint with a a button press if it comes to it but I also don't go anywhere lol.

Also Homeland Security has my fingerprints and iris for an old job so... meh.

I do, but I question the point. Anyone that wanted to get into my phone would probably already be monitoring me and honestly I'm not that cautious of entering my pattern/password when (for example) travelling on the bus.

How often does that happen?

As long as finger/face scans stay secured on device it's pretty innocuous imo. And you can quickly enter the "lockdown" state, which disables biometrics. Law enforcement cannot force you to enter passwords in any civilized country I know of.

iPhones can enter a lockdown mode with a couple button presses, I’m sure android can do it as well.

There is a lockdown mode or something in the power menu that should disable biometrics until the next unlock with pin/passcode

Not defending the companies, just something to be aware of if you see a cop coming towards you in the distance

That's a pretty unlikely scenario though. Someone would be better off just selling your phone at that point.

Because how is a thief going to get a perfect video of you to play to the camera?

I think it works best in combination with fingerprint scanner.

Like when your fingers are wet and are difficult to scan. Whilst trying to make the scanner work, face unlock just does it for you.

But, yes, if it were one or the other, fingerprint scanner is simply way more convenient.