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Ulefone Future will feature a side mounted fingerprint scanner

Ying HuaFebruary 15, 2016

Fingerprint scanners usually live on the rear of the phone, or on the chin, but a few brands have moved the security feature to the metal chassis of their phones like Ulefone.

Ulefone are aiming to be one of the first smaller Chinese brands to release a truly bezel-less smartphone and we hope to get our hands on it at MWC in a few days.

To keep interest in their new phone, Ulefone have been staging the common method of ‘leaking’ a new feature every few days. These ‘leaks’ have shows the bezel-less display in action, confirmed partial hardware parameters and today reveal the location of the fingerprint scanner.

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On the Ulefone Future the fingerprint scanner will be located on the right side of the metal frame below the physical power button and volume rocker. On their previous Ulefone Power, the fingerprint scanner was used for a few different features from taking photos and locking apps, and we assume these features will be carried over to the Future.

The teaser image that Ulefone have provided also mentions a Mediatek Helio P10 chipset, 4GB RAM, 32GB memory, and metal unibody design. Keep your eyes on news from MWC to see the Ulefone Power in the flesh.

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

About the author
Ying Hua
I'm an avid gamer and a bit of a Ninja when it comes to gadgets and technology. When I'm not busy with the latest Android and iOS games and I can be found writing at Gizchina.com.

Nilzie
February 15, 2016
Why am I the only one that loves this phone? This is my phone of the year 2016.
p10, 4gb ram, the awesome bezelless look, and now side mounted fingerprint? Will probably have a sony sensor too. Looks as if the era of 16gb roms are fading away
- Rene
  February 15, 2016
  I would suggest waiting for reviews before passing judgement on an unreleased product. To do so is folly when it comes to Chinese devices, in my opinion at least.
  Although specs look great, they can be very easily let down by terrible software implementations. We have seen this plenty a time in the past.
  - Assefa Hanson
    February 15, 2016
    “when it comes to chinese devices” are non chinese devices immune/unfamiliar to/with making products that are not up to standard!?
  - Mengkih
    February 15, 2016
    All companies want to optimize the software, even though I now use Redmi note3 of MIUI7.1-7.1.8.0, in use for a month, the whole system is also very Caton, and sometimes can only do a factory reset possible with the installation of the program related to how much, Android there is still much room for improvement, only IOS is the best system, but unfortunately too expensive iPhone.

Tomislav Ivan Flis
February 15, 2016
I’m hoping it will have gyroscope!
xteamchinax
February 15, 2016
Let’s hope the side fingerprint scanner actually works. I’ve read reviews of Sony’s side scanner being so unreliable that users stopped using it and opted for password/pin/pattern unlock instead.
Assefa Hanson
February 15, 2016
the only other phone i know of with a fingerprint scanner to the side is the nextbit robin

Roberto Tomás
February 15, 2016
why do they put a P10 in such a beautiful phone? I mean.. its nice to have a cheaper option, but they should also have an X20 variant
- Rob
  February 15, 2016
  Totally agree, an X20 in this would be awesome. Really loving what Ulefone are trying to do here but if you’re gonna make it look cutting edge it really needs the hardware to go with it!
- Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
  February 19, 2016
  They need a lot of money to put a X20 inside, money that probably they don’t want to invest at now.
  - Roberto Tomás
    February 20, 2016
    Its not really so different.. there’s at least twice as much die space for the gpu .. but still it is on the order of 150% or so the size. We’re talking $5-$20 parts here.
bro-reac
February 15, 2016
The phone looks awesome am definately in. But……….. only after user reviews.
Manjurul Islam
February 15, 2016
Why these cheapo Chinese phone developers don’t put some useful sensors like gyro, motion, game, accelerometer etc? Whenever they or other source leaks video with antutu window, they skip the antutu’s info part where it is visible what sensors are included and what not. Ulefone, elephone and some other always play these dirty tricks.
- ksuuk
  February 15, 2016
  - Manjurul Islam
    February 15, 2016
    CPU is not a big concern either, many users are happy with mediatek, Samsung or hisilicon SoCs. But these sensors are of a great concern, and only these el cheapo hype creators manufacturer cause this issue. Even meizu and xiaomi have mediatek based phone, but sensors are good (though xiaomi didn’t include a GPS sensor on their mipad2, not sure why )
    - Marco Lancaster
      February 15, 2016
      - Fabio
        February 15, 2016
        Assefa Hanson
        February 16, 2016
- Guns 'n' Vegetables
  February 15, 2016
  All the sensors you talk about are expensive. It appears on Xiaomi and Meizu because such phones are actually not as cheap. Brands like Ulefone has their position in the industry, which is to serve people with basic needs, i guess.
  - Fabio
    February 15, 2016
    Sounds reasonable, but gyroscope should be with the phone at least. It’s not acceptable that a phone named Future come without it.
    - Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
      February 19, 2016
  - Manjurul Islam
    February 16, 2016
    If price is their concern, they shouldn’t play hide n seek on video demonstration while showing device info on antutu, geekbench of any other app. After all, customers already know what is inside, and what will be inside on future devices.

Cellular Barn
February 15, 2016
Great features, the side seems like a good choice for a scanner, but as always, we’ll have to wait for a review on actual performance of the device.
Nilzie
February 15, 2016
Why am I the only one that loves this phone? This is my phone of the year 2016.
p10, 4gb ram, the awesome bezelless look, and now side mounted fingerprint? Will probably have a sony sensor too. Looks as if the era of 16gb roms are fading away
- Rene
  February 15, 2016
  I would suggest waiting for reviews before passing judgement on an unreleased product. To do so is folly when it comes to Chinese devices, in my opinion at least.
  Although specs look great, they can be very easily let down by terrible software implementations. We have seen this plenty a time in the past.
- Assefa Hanson
  February 15, 2016
  “when it comes to chinese devices” are non chinese devices immune/unfamiliar to/with making products that are not up to standard!?
- Mengkih
  February 16, 2016
  All companies want to optimize the software, even though I now use Redmi note3 of MIUI7.1-7.1.8.0, in use for a month, the whole system is also very Caton, and sometimes can only do a factory reset possible with the installation of the program related to how much, Android there is still much room for improvement, only IOS is the best system, but unfortunately too expensive iPhone.

Tomislav Ivan Flis
February 15, 2016
I’m hoping it will have gyroscope!
xteamchinax
February 15, 2016
Let’s hope the side fingerprint scanner actually works. I’ve read reviews of Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium side scanner being so unreliable that users stopped using it and opted for password/pin/pattern unlock instead.
Assefa Hanson
February 15, 2016
the only other phone i know of with a fingerprint scanner to the side is the nextbit robin

Roberto Tomás
February 15, 2016
why do they put a P10 in such a beautiful phone? I mean.. its nice to have a cheaper option, but they should also have an X20 variant
- Rob
  February 15, 2016
  Totally agree, an X20 in this would be awesome. Really loving what Ulefone are trying to do here but if you’re gonna make it look cutting edge it really needs the hardware to go with it!
- Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
  February 19, 2016
  They need a lot of money to put a X20 inside, money that probably they don’t want to invest at now.
- Roberto Tomás
  February 20, 2016
  Its not really so different.. there’s at least twice as much die space for the gpu .. but still it is on the order of 150% or so the size. We’re talking $5-$20 parts here.

bro-reac
February 15, 2016
The phone looks awesome am definately in. But……….. only after user reviews.
Charles Leadn
February 15, 2016
Nice! Fingerprint sensor on the side, that’s a new one http://www.mobileif.com
Manjurul Islam
February 15, 2016
Why these cheapo Chinese phone developers don’t put some useful sensors like gyro, motion, game, accelerometer etc? Whenever they or other source leaks video with antutu window, they skip the antutu’s info part where it is visible what sensors are included and what not. Ulefone, elephone and some other always play these dirty tricks.
- ksuuk
  February 15, 2016
  Or Qualcomm CPU etc.
- Manjurul Islam
  February 15, 2016
  CPU is not a big concern either, many users are happy with mediatek, Samsung or hisilicon SoCs. But these sensors are of a great concern, and only these el cheapo hype creators manufacturer cause this issue. Even meizu and xiaomi have mediatek based phone, but sensors are good (though xiaomi didn’t include a GPS sensor on their mipad2, not sure why )
- Marco Lancaster
  February 15, 2016
  That’s why I choose Jiayu s3 last year, it packed all the useful sensors.
- Guns 'n' Vegetables
  February 16, 2016
  All the sensors you talk about are expensive. It appears on Xiaomi and Meizu because such phones are actually not as cheap. Brands like Ulefone has their position in the industry, which is to serve people with basic needs, i guess.
- Fabio
  February 16, 2016
  Sounds reasonable, but gyroscope should be with the phone at least. It’s not acceptable that a phone named Future come without it.
- Fabio
  February 16, 2016
  And the brand has disappeared.
- Assefa Hanson
  February 16, 2016
  a shamee realy
- Manjurul Islam
  February 16, 2016
  If price is their concern, they shouldn’t play hide n seek on video demonstration while showing device info on antutu, geekbench of any other app. After all, customers already know what is inside, and what will be inside on future devices.
- Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
  February 19, 2016
  More like that the accelerometer sensor is a must. Gyroscope is often being skipped.
- Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
  February 19, 2016
  I don’t keep an eye on Jiayu, but are they still alive?
Cellular Barn
February 15, 2016
Great features, the side seems like a good choice for a scanner, but as always, we’ll have to wait for a review on actual performance of the device.

Charles Leadn
February 15, 2016
Nice! Fingerprint sensor on the side, that’s a new one http://www.mobileif.com
kik
February 15, 2016
Sideway fingerprint scanner is a smart move. 1. Compared with rear fingerprint scanner, it helps you rest your finger on the right place more easily with the help of eyes. 2. Compared with a front one, It will allow you to complete unlocking during you pick up the your phone. 3. Most importantly, you will not have to see a big home either on the face or the back of your phone.

Windows 10
February 15, 2016
They have restore the video of Future prototype:　https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kS3PI1Bw1k It seems way more bezel-less than most so-called bezel-less phones.
kik
February 16, 2016
Sideway fingerprint scanner is a smart move. 1. Compared with rear fingerprint scanner, it helps you rest your finger on the right place more easily with the help of eyes. 2. Compared with a front one, It will allow you to complete unlocking during you pick up the your phone. 3. Most importantly, you will not have to see a big home either on the face or the back of your phone.

Windows 10
February 16, 2016
They have restore the video of Future prototype:
Windows 10
February 16, 2016
It seems way more bezel-less than most so-called bezel-less phones.
Mengkih
February 16, 2016
Nice design, I like this screen, the hardware is also very strong, I hope as soon as possible sales.
Mengkih
February 16, 2016
Nice design, I like this screen, the hardware is also very strong, I hope as soon as possible sales.
JhonSWEED
December 2, 2017
i like your explanation method,it’s very easy to understand, even if this is a technical subject
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