Poll: Front or rear fingerprint scanners?

A recent press release had us wondering which fingerprint location really is the most prefered? Which do you like front or rear?

UMi sent over one of their ‘news’ pieces earlier tell us the benefits of why the decided to place the fingerprint scanner on the front of their up coming UMi Touch model. Benefits they came up with were that you can use it in numerous situations but ultimately its more natural to use your thumb on the chin of a phone.

I don’t agree, and much prefer a rear fingerprint scanner. I find my index finger naturally rests on the scanner when I hold the a phone, and with the scanner on the rear the phone can be designed to be more compact.

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It has got me wondering though, and I thought I would create this poll to see what your fingerprint scanner location preference is.

Take a vote below, and leave your reasons for your choice in the comments section below.

[poll id=”5″]

Also, in UMi’s news was a link to their latest flash sale on Amazon for phones and headphones.

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
Andi

realjjj
March 2, 2016
There should be 5 options. None at all, side and screen integration should be added.
My vote would go for no biometrics at all since a password you can’t change or conceal is simply too much of a risk.
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  why cant they make fingerprint passwords? by making the direction/orientation of the fingerprint be a single character? making it changeable? a thumbs up for biometrics again?
  - realjjj
    March 2, 2016
    Not very sure what you are saying.
    What i mean is that the fingerprint is the password and you can’t change it or hide it. It’s there for anyone to “steal it” and once compromised , you can’t change it.
    Biometrics are convenient but offer weak security.
    - Assefa Hanson
      March 2, 2016
      i mean it could be changeable, e.g this is your fingerprint (I)
      and im saying make the orientation a character for a “fingerprint password/pin” (right) etc maybe even make the duration of the scan itself another layer of security
      - realjjj
        March 2, 2016
        Assefa Hanson
        March 2, 2016
        that wasnt the subject, it was security, it does kill convineince but i have proved my point
Assefa Hanson
March 2, 2016
front is terrible, with back sensor you can take selfies and maneuver the phone without hand gymnastics only plus for the fron is if its lying on a table, but maybe side fingerprint sensors are the greatest
- balcobomber25
  March 2, 2016
  - Assefa Hanson
    March 2, 2016
    - balcobomber25
      March 2, 2016
      I just use my thumb, it’s a natural motion the way i hold my phone.

Marco Lancaster
March 2, 2016
I prefer rear, I have big hands, like a basketball player lol
So it’s more intuitive for me as my hand rests right on the right place.
By the way, the issue with rear fingerprint is you can’t use it when the phone is placed over a desk.
I don’t like front ones, because they take some space on the front (Just my opinion) and sometimes doesn’t look good. Save phones from Meizu series, their fingerprints looks cool and fits fine with the rest of phone’s design.
- MinusPlusDivide
  March 5, 2016
  I don’t have big hand and I prefer rear. And I don’t see myself use the phone on the desk many time at all, if I use on the desk that mostly when I look for the time or notification which can easily get by double tap to light the screen.

balcobomber25
March 2, 2016
I like the front for the simple reason that I can unlock without picking the phone up. This comes in handy when I am working and my phone is on my desk.
- realjjj
  March 2, 2016
  - balcobomber25
    March 2, 2016
    - realjjj
      March 2, 2016
      - balcobomber25
        March 2, 2016
        Or having a secure network, and not allowing people to install random crap on their work computers.
        MaxPower
        March 2, 2016
        It doesn’t matter how educate your employees are, the best way to stay away from troubles is just to prevent people doing it rather than define lot of restricting policies.
        It might sound unfair but that’s the best way to be productive
        balcobomber25
        March 2, 2016
        Exactly and most companies operate this way. Allowing people to use a work computer however they please opens up pandora’s box of issues.
        
        realjjj
        March 2, 2016
        why does it have to be random? cos you need to win?
        if your IT folks are morons and so are your bosses, fine but why defend them?
        balcobomber25
        March 2, 2016
        Why do you have to insult people you don’t know? Cause you need to win? I work for one of the most technologically advanced companies in the world. They don’t allow people to download anything that is not company related. And almost every company I have worked for (all of them in the technology and government sector) have been the same exact way. Maybe your line of work is different but most people I know aren’t allowed to do that at work.
        
        realjjj
        March 2, 2016
        This would be an app that increases productivity and should be in anyone’s arsenal. I have never argued that it should be random.
        You just need to force the idea that it is random,and unauthorized.
        As for being technologically advanced, one can’t be that if you can’t even mirror your damn phone on your PC. What’s more basic than that?
        balcobomber25
        March 2, 2016
        Checking my personal email, texts, facebook etc at work doesn’t help productivity, it hurts it. It is a random app, it has literally nothing to do with work.
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  - balcobomber25
    March 2, 2016
    Don’t need one, the natural way I hold my phone my thumb works perfectly. Like the picture below:
    - Assefa Hanson
      March 2, 2016
      side note, what ugly bezels, i dunno man i can see you have some fingers touching the SIDES of the phone 😛
      - balcobomber25
        March 2, 2016
        That’s not my phone, it’s press image of an iPhone 5s, it’s just an example of how I would normally hold my phone.
        
        MinusPlusDivide
        March 5, 2016
        The press image of both iPhone 5s and Samsung finger scanner feel very uncomfortable way to hold a phone for me, it seem like you are about to drop the phone because you are not hold the phone in a firm grip unlike when you use the rear or the side scanner.
        The firm grip way to use the front scanner is to use two hands which kind of feel meh to me.
        balcobomber25
        March 6, 2016
        I hold MX5 this way, never have dropped it once. Of course my fingers have a much better grip on the phone than these press images where the fingers are flat.
    - realjjj
      March 2, 2016
      trying to deceive much? that’s a tiny device,. a normal device is a lot easier to drop.
      - MaxPower
        March 2, 2016
        Yeti hand
        March 3, 2016
      - balcobomber25
        March 2, 2016
        How am I “deceiving”? I say in this post below it is an iPhone 5… I guess you were too busy trying to be right to read that comment. Here is one of the MX5 which i own. If you hold your phone differently please share it.
        
        realjjj
        March 2, 2016
        and that’s exactly how people drop them in the damn toilet all the time.
        phone makers went larger and larger,yet they left the buttons bellow the screen, far far far away from the ideal and safest position.
        and with that i am done with you for good,.
        balcobomber25
        March 2, 2016
        I have been using smartphones for years have never dropped one in the toilet. Sounds like a personal problem.
        For me the front fingerprint sensor is in the ideal position it is where my thumb would naturally rest anyways. For you it is different.
        
        MaxPower
        March 2, 2016
        Because you don’t like benchmarks.
        I’ve heard many people spend lot of time in the toilet while running benchmarks…
        And then shit happens!
        balcobomber25
        March 2, 2016
        This is true, they stand over the toilet running Antutu. When the score is below their friends they throw the phone in the toilet in protest.
        “I was supposed to get 59,000 but I only got 58,998!!!!!!”
        MaxPower
        March 2, 2016
        I heard it differently.
        It’s related to autoerotism.
        Wet hands, slippery phone…
        ahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa
        Sensei you’re the best
        
        realjjj
        March 2, 2016
        you know what to hell with it
        “balcobomber25
        8 months ago
        – I would vote for Bush
        a third time if it meant no more Obama. Bush was an idiot but he at least knew what the words “foreign policy” meant.”
        That tells any vaguely sane person all they need to know about and your intellectual capacity.
        Jeep ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ
        March 2, 2016
        How does this bring anything to any healthy discussion?
        balcobomber25
        March 3, 2016
        Because he knows he is wrong so he is looking for a distraction.
        
        balcobomber25
        March 3, 2016
        Obama’s foreign policy is an absolute joke not sure what that has to do with morons dropping their phones in the toilet.
        Yeti hand
        March 3, 2016
        balcobomber25
        March 3, 2016
        Apparently according to realjjj disagreeing with Obama means we are responsible for people dropping phones in toilets.
        Yeti hand
        March 3, 2016
    - The Special Juan
      March 3, 2016
      - Yeti hand
        March 3, 2016

Tremaine Underwood
March 2, 2016
None at all for me. I would never use it and it looks ugly when on the back. Plus phones with it were more expensive, this is changing now, however.
- balcobomber25
  March 2, 2016
  - Tremaine Underwood
    March 2, 2016
    Security on my phone doesn’t bother me, I understand the risks. Having said that implementations are becoming lightning quick. I guess I would use it if it unlocks the phone faster then swiping up. But it would be for that benefit more than the intended use. I bought a Ecoo e04 recently and I just find it an annoyance(it is an old implementation now though).
    - balcobomber25
      March 2, 2016
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  why not side fingerprint then? it doesnt or not so much impacts the phones overall aesthetics
  - Tremaine Underwood
    March 3, 2016
    Depends on how they implement it, but it shouldn’t be that noticeable. If I were to choose on where to have it, I would agree with Balco in that the home button makes the most sense. Mainly because I like physical buttons(I know a lot of people don’t).

- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  i think this is the best, you can activate it on the table, and its not uncomfortable to use like a front and it wont change the phones look too much like a back 🙂
- MinusPlusDivide
  March 5, 2016
  like the Z5, this is more preferable way for me
  The front aka iPhone, Samsung, Xiaomi way make me feel meh when I tried to use it.

tauerman
March 2, 2016
I’ve only used a phone with front scanner so far. And it was very uncomfortable, reaching down below the display with the thumb, almost dropping the phone every time. (it was a ZUK Z1).
So I prefer back scanner (but I couldn’t test a phone with scanner on the back yet)
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  - balcobomber25
    March 2, 2016
    I don’t understand how you hold your phone, for me my thumb is always in the exact spot the fingerprint sensor would be anyways.
    - Assefa Hanson
      March 2, 2016
      yow how does a person buy acer phones, the liquid jade 2 looks interesting to me but im clueless where you buy acer phones
      - Marco Lancaster
        March 3, 2016
        Assefa Hanson
        March 3, 2016
        i cant help myself, i have to mention some unrelated information, im constantly looking at other phone stuff then i end up with questions lol
      - Tremaine Underwood
        March 3, 2016
        Try looking at Kimovil, they have 4 resellers listed. 3 of them are Amazon(French, Spanish and German). Then also a place PriceMinister(appears to be a french site).
        Assefa Hanson
        March 3, 2016
      - balcobomber25
        March 3, 2016
        I don’t see them on many traditional resellers but Amazon has some of them their models.
- MinusPlusDivide
  March 5, 2016
Luis Bastos
March 2, 2016
People, it really depends in a lot of stuff…
Imagine your hand, if you have a big hand then you will probably feel more confortable having the scanner on the back, but if you have a small hand (like me) It is really more useful and pratical on the front…
We are all different…
For me, a smartphone with more than 5 inches is just too big…
You know why??
Cause my hand is small, simple.
Monk3y
March 2, 2016
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
Walter Fernandez
March 2, 2016
Both sides could be the best 😉

Jeep ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ
March 2, 2016
I would prefer it on the front, I’ve used it with the Ecoo E04 and the Ulefone Be touch 2 and both were pretty good (BT2 better of course). I tried the rear fingerprint on a Huawei but I really disliked it. Of course, this is all a personal matter.
On the rear I have to ‘search’ for the scanner for a sec and I have to pick up the phone when I want to unlock it. I’ve also never seen a good looking implementation on the rear but again, it’s an personal opinion on the looks of a device.
The front button if already there, but know it has an extra function with it. Naturally this depends on the finish of the button, how they installed it.
On the side would probably be a con for me since I am left-handed and I am pretty sure the scanner would be on the ‘wrong’ side of the phone for me.
Touch screen scanners are being researched I believe but I think it might be a while before we see this on the more affordable China-devices.

G'n'T
March 2, 2016
For me I prefer the front scanner. I do a lot of work in the car and I can easily unlock the phone when its in its holder using the front scanner. A rear scanner would make this cumbersome and dangerous.
I have used the front on the Ulefone BT2 and for me it works great. So I would prefer to see more phones with a front scanner.

Adam Irvine
March 2, 2016
I think in a strange way it feels more natural on the front as I think it feels right to press your thumb down into something rather than apply pressure with your finger up against the back of the phone… I hate to say it but I do feel this is something that Apple have had spot on since they started implementing them, even their circular scanner is preferable to me.

highwind
March 2, 2016
Rear, without a question
It is the more ergonomical position and I completely dislike physical home buttons
Joel Adames
March 2, 2016
Back placement for me it is. There so many more options this way .

Stef
March 2, 2016
I don’t like physical buttons , so back. But really I don’t care either way. It mostly makes the phone worse (bigger chins) without adding much IMO.
I think it’s apple’s way to level the playfield by “inspiring” others to put as big chins as their phones and the rest were duped to follow losing one crucial advantage of android phones (smaller chin, easier to reach places one handed despite the bigger screens).
I have a similar feeling about app drawers btw. An ingenious improvement of androids over iPhones would be discarded by android N because of an idiotic race to mimick iPhones…
- balcobomber25
  March 3, 2016
  - Stef
    March 3, 2016
    Naah, custom launchers mimic Google’s way (which in turn -lately- mimics Apple’s way in certain things). In a few years nobody would be using drawers because Google said so , because Apple said so.
    See where flash is now, for a time we only half the internet available to our phones only because the two big companies said so, thank god for HTML5 actually coming to the rescue…
    - balcobomber25
      March 3, 2016
      - Stef
        March 3, 2016
        Even if they don’t/won’t it would still class with the rest of Android. I’m sure that Google would make sure that everything would be built around the “having no drawer” kind of experience.
        I find it hard to see how the drawer would survive on its own if Google abandons it. Petty and pitiful move from their side, I hope they’d reverse it like Microsoft did with the Start-Screen of theirs…
        balcobomber25
        March 4, 2016
        You find it hard to see how independent developers are able to think and act on their own without Google’s input? There are over 4500 different launchers on Android. Some have a typical app drawer, some have a Windows Metro look, some like Yahoo Aviate are completely different. All of the survive no matter what Google does or doesn’t do to Android.
        
        Stef
        March 4, 2016
        They do but they’re rarely used, they don’t tie well with the rest of the experience. It is possible to create a completely custom experience, but it requires work, lot’s of work, the type of work that most people are not willing to put in.
        Just installing a custom launcher rarely is enough. For example in my Xiaomi machines I’d rather use the MIUI launcher despite the lack of drawer because I felt it worked better with the rest of the MIUI rom. I fear the same will happen with Android as a whole, and no amount of custom launchers can save us (at least not “easily”, without the help of other synergistic tweaking) … it would eventually be thought as a passé feature, fall in disuse and lack of updates would indeed make it a passé feature.
        A bit of like the tablet experience that Honeycomb gave you, Google thought they would do well to abandon it, trashing a lot of the tablet experience in the process (Really who wants bigger phones) and only now through the help of third parties like RemixOS and Phoenix OS things seem to get better, we had a 3-4 year long hiatus, because Google sometimes trash good ideas.
        
        balcobomber25
        March 4, 2016
        They are rarely used? Go Launcher is one of the most downloaded apps on Android. There are 10 launchers with combined downloads of over 1 billion.
        
        Stef
        March 4, 2016
        The tweaks of the launchers are rarely used. Most use them as is, in which case it would be a mimicry of what Google suggests (no app drawer) with the added customization.
        90% of the people’s phones that I have seen either use stock launcher or one that mimics Google’s . I expect the exodus to happen en masse. For example LG is already offering no app drawer by default, the rest would follow one by one.
        A feature that is rarely used fells in disuse and eventually obsolation. Again, see Android tabs. Do they reverted to their tablet specific environment? No across the board they became more and more phone like following google’s lead. Android is Google’s OS and for better or worse their tune is followed, sooner or later. If Google says “no drawer” you better start accepting it…
        
        balcobomber25
        March 4, 2016
        99% of all statistics on the internet are made up. Many Android companies (especially those in China) have been offering no App drawer for years. They didn’t need Google to tell them what to do. Go and Nova Launcher have millions of users that use those launchers for a reason, if they suddenly abandon the look and feel of their launcher to appease Google, another company will come along and steal all those customers. App drawers are going nowhere.
        
        Stef
        March 4, 2016
        Well I’m referencing an anecdote, so it’s not a statistic, it’s a rough estimation, which in turn happens to be true since I’m “the guy in office” who often takes a quick look when something is wrong with one’s phone.
        BTW the fact that China already made the move is closer to my point. If Google makes it too a whole generation of people would learn android as drawless so 3rd parties would abandon it.
        I’m not saying that it won’t be offered, merely that it would stop being updated (as a feature) for years and eventually fall in disrepair and obsoletion.. Obviously we’d be around so we’d see it happening (or not).
        PS: similar things was said about the tablet environment. That once Google stopped offering 3rd parties, rom makers and OEMs would -at least- continue to, and guess what … they didn’t. There are some buggy implementations nowadays that hardly anyone uses, some of the most unpopular threads in xda -for example- is about adding the tablet env back…
        
        SnowyCat
        March 5, 2016
        i used app drawers for years…since i used flyme or miui i dont see a point to go back to a launcher with an app drawer..its kinda pointless for me..like an old outdated habbit that does nothing productive^^
        
        Stef
        March 5, 2016
        Yeah, that’s what I meant by my initial post. People will start using what is on offer and prefer it, that’s what always happens with people, even if you give them fewer features they would love them simply because it’s branded as “new”.
        That’s why I find it troubling that Google chose that route, it’s psychology 101, most would love it simply because it’s “new”, the rest would suffer because Google chose the wrong kind of “new” to offer…
        balcobomber25
        March 6, 2016
        3rd parties aren’t going to abandon something that billions of people are using already. They aren;t going to stop updating it, or coming out with new versions. Nova and Go Launcher aren’t going anywhere, they will always have an app drawer option. You can take your tinfoil hat off.
        
        Stef
        March 6, 2016
        You don’t seem to address my main point . It already happened to tablets, tablet UI is dead there, nothing tinfoil hattish there.
        It’s simply how things go, demand leads to production. There was a demand for a good drawer when millions used it, when Google turns it into a norm not to use it, the numbers would reduce to thousands (there was a study I’ve read the other day that a significant percentage of people don’t tweak their phones and basically use them as glorified feature phones, i.e. very few apps, etc).
        I honestly doubt that Go or Nova would continue updating that feature. Like I said: disuse -> obsoletion
        Instead of calling iphone’s BS, we turn into it (physical button, no app drawer)… now we need big bezels and small battery to complete the transformation…
        
        balcobomber25
        March 6, 2016
        Why would you doubt Go will update a feature that millions of people not only use but pay them to use? Do you think they are in business to make money or to appease Google?
        
        Stef
        March 6, 2016
        Because I think people would stop using the drawer eventually. Again, I have to use tablet UI as my example. Little by little everybody moved away from it…
        When people would get used to the drawless experience they would be spited by a launcher that uses a drawer. So either Go would get on with the times or see their millions reduce to thousands…
        
        balcobomber25
        March 7, 2016
        Tablet UI is the only thing you have to go on. Everybody moved away from it because Android tablets where never that popular to begin with. They still aren’t really. But App drawers have attracted hundreds of millions of users, they are going nowhere.
        A majority of Go’s (and others launchers) customers come from the Asian markets where app drawers haven’t existed for years. They are still one of the top 10 apps on Android. They already have a history of people wanting an app drawer in an environment where none exists.
        
        Stef
        March 7, 2016
        My point is that Google sets the pace. Android tablets are first in sales (if we go by OS in tablets).
        If they could drive their own tablets to the ground (even as they were popular in sales) they can certainly do the same to the drawer. They’ll fight tooth and nail to eradicate it, probably block go launcher from play store if they need to (like they did with many other apps that they didn’t like their direction) … we’ll see…
        balcobomber25
        March 7, 2016
        They are not going to block Go Launcher from the Play Store. Are you always this paranoid when new features are announced? If Google was this much of a control freak and wanted everything to be 100% their way they wouldn’t allow the near endless customization options that exist. Their wouldn’t be apps like Cortana that compete with Google Now or Waze that competes with Google Maps. You really need to take a step back and realize how crazy you sound right now.
        
        Stef
        March 7, 2016
        I’m not being paranoid, they actually did block many apps that went against their policy, like adblockers, they even removed a Samsung browser lately. Lately they have started discouraging rooting too (if you root you can’t use Android Pay). BTW I’m not saying that they *will* block it, they’ll only do “if need be”. I expect Go, along with the other launchers to fall in line and remove the drawer and only make it an optional (probably hidden) feature…
        BTW removing a drawer is not a new feature, the drawer *was* the new feature that android brought forth to contrast with iPhone and feature phones (which had all the apps in front of you).
        balcobomber25
        March 7, 2016
        The app drawer isn’t going anywhere. This is a pointless argument though until we see what happens with Android N.

realjjj
March 2, 2016
There should be 5 options. None at all, side and screen integration should be added.
My vote would go for no biometrics at all since a password you can’t change or conceal is simply too much of a risk.
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  why cant they make fingerprint passwords? by making the direction/orientation of the fingerprint be a single character? making it changeable? a thumbs up for biometrics again?
- realjjj
  March 2, 2016
  Not very sure what you are saying.
  What i mean is that the fingerprint is the password and you can’t change it or hide it. It’s there for anyone to “steal it” and once compromised , you can’t change it.
  Biometrics are convenient but offer weak security.
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  i mean it could be changeable, e.g this is your fingerprint (I)
  and im saying make the orientation a character for a “fingerprint password/pin” (right) etc maybe even make the duration of the scan itself another layer of security
- realjjj
  March 2, 2016
  That kills convenience.
- Assefa Hanson
  March 3, 2016
  that wasnt the subject, it was security, it does kill convineince but i have proved my point
Assefa Hanson
March 2, 2016
front is terrible, with back sensor you can take selfies and maneuver the phone without hand gymnastics only plus for the fron is if its lying on a table, but maybe side fingerprint sensors are the greatest
- balcobomber25
  March 2, 2016
  How can you not take selfies with a front lol?
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  no its the gymnastics as in using the front fingerprint scanner as the shutter button
- balcobomber25
  March 2, 2016
  I just use my thumb, it’s a natural motion the way i hold my phone.

Marco Lancaster
March 2, 2016
I prefer rear, I have big hands, like a basketball player lol
So it’s more intuitive for me as my hand rests right on the right place.
By the way, the issue with rear fingerprint is you can’t use it when the phone is placed over a desk.
I don’t like front ones, because they take some space on the front (Just my opinion) and sometimes doesn’t look good. Save phones from Meizu series, their fingerprints looks cool and fits fine with the rest of phone’s design.
- Guest
  March 5, 2016
  I don’t have big hand and I prefer rear. And I don’t see myself use the phone on the desk many time at all, if I use on the desk that mostly when I look for the time or notification which can easily get by double tap to light the screen.

balcobomber25
March 2, 2016
I like the front for the simple reason that I can unlock without picking the phone up. This comes in handy when I am working and my phone is on my desk.
- realjjj
  March 2, 2016
  Link to PC like normal people
  some apps but feel free to look for others http://lifehacker.com/the-best-desktop-manager-for-android-1642628063
- balcobomber25
  March 2, 2016
  Not possible at my job and many jobs that “normal” people work at.
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
- ahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa
  Sensei you’re the best
- Yeti hand
  March 3, 2016
  XD XD
- balcobomber25
  March 3, 2016
  Apparently according to realjjj disagreeing with Obama means we are responsible for people dropping phones in toilets.
- balcobomber25
  March 3, 2016
  Because he knows he is wrong so he is looking for a distraction.
- Yeti hand
  March 4, 2016
  don’t try to see any logical reasoning when there is none
- Guest
  March 5, 2016
  The press image of both iPhone 5s and Samsung finger scanner feel very uncomfortable way to hold a phone for me, it seem like you are about to drop the phone because you are not hold the phone in a firm grip unlike when you use the rear or the side scanner.
  The firm grip way to use the front scanner is to use two hands which kind of feel meh to me.
- balcobomber25
  March 6, 2016
  I hold MX5 this way, never have dropped it once. Of course my fingers have a much better grip on the phone than these press images where the fingers are flat.
Tremaine Underwood
March 2, 2016
None at all for me. I would never use it and it looks ugly when on the back. Plus phones with it were more expensive, this is changing now, however.
- balcobomber25
  March 2, 2016
  Just out of curiosity why would you never use one?
- Tremaine Underwood
  March 2, 2016
  Security on my phone doesn’t bother me, I understand the risks. Having said that implementations are becoming lightning quick. I guess I would use it if it unlocks the phone faster then swiping up. But it would be for that benefit more than the intended use. I bought a Ecoo e04 recently and I just find it an annoyance(it is an old implementation now though).
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  why not side fingerprint then? it doesnt or not so much impacts the phones overall aesthetics
- balcobomber25
  March 2, 2016
  Fair enough.
- Tremaine Underwood
  March 3, 2016
  Depends on how they implement it, but it shouldn’t be that noticeable. If I were to choose on where to have it, I would agree with Balco in that the home button makes the most sense. Mainly because I like physical buttons(I know a lot of people don’t).
denkem
March 2, 2016
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  i think this is the best, you can activate it on the table, and its not uncomfortable to use like a front and it wont change the phones look too much like a back 🙂
- Guest
  March 5, 2016
  like the Z5, this is more preferable way for me
  The front aka iPhone, Samsung, Xiaomi way make me feel meh when I tried to use it.

tauerman
March 2, 2016
I’ve only used a phone with front scanner so far. And it was very uncomfortable, reaching down below the display with the thumb, almost dropping the phone every time. (it was a ZUK Z1).
So I prefer back scanner (but I couldn’t test a phone with scanner on the back yet)
- Assefa Hanson
  March 2, 2016
  LMAO see balco this person understands my pain
- balcobomber25
  March 2, 2016
  I don’t understand how you hold your phone, for me my thumb is always in the exact spot the fingerprint sensor would be anyways.
- Assefa Hanson
  March 3, 2016
  yow how does a person buy acer phones, the liquid jade 2 looks interesting to me but im clueless where you buy acer phones
- Marco Lancaster
  March 3, 2016
  Lol where he said Acer?
- Tremaine Underwood
  March 3, 2016
  Try looking at Kimovil, they have 4 resellers listed. 3 of them are Amazon(French, Spanish and German). Then also a place PriceMinister(appears to be a french site).
- Assefa Hanson
  March 3, 2016
  thanks
- Assefa Hanson
  March 3, 2016
  i cant help myself, i have to mention some unrelated information, im constantly looking at other phone stuff then i end up with questions lol
- balcobomber25
  March 3, 2016
  I don’t see them on many traditional resellers but Amazon has some of them their models.
- Guest
  March 5, 2016
  I understand how you feel.
Luis Bastos
March 2, 2016
People, it really depends in a lot of stuff…
Imagine your hand, if you have a big hand then you will probably feel more confortable having the scanner on the back, but if you have a small hand (like me) It is really more useful and pratical on the front…
We are all different…
For me, a smartphone with more than 5 inches is just too big…
You know why??
Cause my hand is small, simple.

Xalis
March 2, 2016
Front if you care about looks, rear if you actually want a functional feature.
Guest
March 2, 2016
- Assefa Hanson
  March 3, 2016
Guest
March 2, 2016
Both sides could be the best 😉

Jeep ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ
March 2, 2016
I would prefer it on the front, I’ve used it with the Ecoo E04 and the Ulefone Be touch 2 and both were pretty good (BT2 better of course). I tried the rear fingerprint on a Huawei but I really disliked it. Of course, this is all a personal matter.
On the rear I have to ‘search’ for the scanner for a sec and I have to pick up the phone when I want to unlock it. I’ve also never seen a good looking implementation on the rear but again, it’s an personal opinion on the looks of a device.
The front button if already there, but know it has an extra function with it. Naturally this depends on the finish of the button, how they installed it.
On the side would probably be a con for me since I am left-handed and I am pretty sure the scanner would be on the ‘wrong’ side of the phone for me.
Touch screen scanners are being researched I believe but I think it might be a while before we see this on the more affordable China-devices.

Joel Adames
March 2, 2016
But in the end … It all comes to preference Andi, dome will have their reasons for prefer back placement and other for Front placement… So it is a dead end this poll, although one side will definitely get more points than the other one… 😉
- trapchan
  March 7, 2016
  and that was the point of a polling. to get the idea which one are more preferred than the others.

G'n'T
March 2, 2016
For me I prefer the front scanner. I do a lot of work in the car and I can easily unlock the phone when its in its holder using the front scanner. A rear scanner would make this cumbersome and dangerous.
I have used the front on the Ulefone BT2 and for me it works great. So I would prefer to see more phones with a front scanner.
Adam Irvine
March 2, 2016
I think in a strange way it feels more natural on the front as I think it feels right to press your thumb down into something rather than apply pressure with your finger up against the back of the phone… I hate to say it but I do feel this is something that Apple have had spot on since they started implementing them, even their circular scanner is preferable to me.

provokanter Tabellenführer
March 2, 2016
Rear, without a question
It is the more ergonomical position and I completely dislike physical home buttons
Joel Adames
March 2, 2016
Back placement for me it is. There so many more options this way .
Victor
March 3, 2016
Unfortunately “NO FINGERPRINT SENSOR” is absent in the option… i am not a kind of paranoia person
- Nilzie
  March 3, 2016
  because its optional to use.
- balcobomber25
  March 3, 2016
  You don’t have to use it, you can completely ignore it and use a pin, pattern, password or nothing.

Stef
March 3, 2016
I don’t like physical buttons , so back. But really I don’t care either way. It mostly makes the phone worse (bigger chins) without adding much IMO.
I think it’s apple’s way to level the playfield by “inspiring” others to put as big chins as their phones and the rest were duped to follow losing one crucial advantage of android phones (smaller chin, easier to reach places one handed despite the bigger screens).
I have a similar feeling about app drawers btw. An ingenious improvement of androids over iPhones would be discarded by android N because of an idiotic race to mimick iPhones…
- balcobomber25
  March 3, 2016
  That is what custom launchers are for, including Google’s own Now launcher.
- Stef
  March 4, 2016
  Naah, custom launchers mimic Google’s way (which in turn -lately- mimics Apple’s way in certain things). In a few years nobody would be using drawers because Google said so , because Apple said so.
  See where flash is now, for a time we only half the internet available to our phones only because the two big companies said so, thank god for HTML5 actually coming to the rescue…
- balcobomber25
  March 4, 2016
  Nova isn’t going to drop the app drawer to mimic Apple’s way.
- Stef
  March 4, 2016
  Even if they don’t/won’t it would still class with the rest of Android. I’m sure that Google would make sure that everything would be built around the “having no drawer” kind of experience.
  I find it hard to see how the drawer would survive on its own if Google abandons it. Petty and pitiful move from their side, I hope they’d reverse it like Microsoft did with the Start-Screen of theirs…
- balcobomber25
  March 4, 2016
  You find it hard to see how independent developers are able to think and act on their own without Google’s input? There are over 4500 different launchers on Android. Some have a typical app drawer, some have a Windows Metro look, some like Yahoo Aviate are completely different. All of the survive no matter what Google does or doesn’t do to Android.
- Stef
  March 4, 2016
  They do but they’re rarely used, they don’t tie well with the rest of the experience. It is possible to create a completely custom experience, but it requires work, lot’s of work, the type of work that most people are not willing to put in.
  Just installing a custom launcher rarely is enough. For example in my Xiaomi machines I’d rather use the MIUI launcher despite the lack of drawer because I felt it worked better with the rest of the MIUI rom. I fear the same will happen with Android as a whole, and no amount of custom launchers can save us (at least not “easily”, without the help of other synergistic tweaking) … it would eventually be thought as a passé feature, fall in disuse and lack of updates would indeed make it a passé feature.
  A bit of like the tablet experience that Honeycomb gave you, Google thought they would do well to abandon it, trashing a lot of the tablet experience in the process (Really who wants bigger phones) and only now through the help of third parties like RemixOS and Phoenix OS things seem to get better, we had a 3-4 year long hiatus, because Google sometimes trash good ideas.
- balcobomber25
  March 4, 2016
  They are rarely used? Go Launcher is one of the most downloaded apps on Android. There are 10 launchers with combined downloads of over 1 billion.
- Stef
  March 4, 2016
  The tweaks of the launchers are rarely used. Most use them as is, in which case it would be a mimicry of what Google suggests (no app drawer) with the added customization.
  90% of the people’s phones that I have seen either use stock launcher or one that mimics Google’s . I expect the exodus to happen en masse. For example LG is already offering no app drawer by default, the rest would follow one by one.
  A feature that is rarely used fells in disuse and eventually obsolation. Again, see Android tabs. Do they reverted to their tablet specific environment? No across the board they became more and more phone like following google’s lead. Android is Google’s OS and for better or worse their tune is followed, sooner or later. If Google says “no drawer” you better start accepting it…
- balcobomber25
  March 4, 2016
  99% of all statistics on the internet are made up. Many Android companies (especially those in China) have been offering no App drawer for years. They didn’t need Google to tell them what to do. Go and Nova Launcher have millions of users that use those launchers for a reason, if they suddenly abandon the look and feel of their launcher to appease Google, another company will come along and steal all those customers. App drawers are going nowhere.
- Stef
  March 4, 2016
  Well I’m referencing an anecdote, so it’s not a statistic, it’s a rough estimation, which in turn happens to be true since I’m “the guy in office” who often takes a quick look when something is wrong with one’s phone.
  BTW the fact that China already made the move is closer to my point. If Google makes it too a whole generation of people would learn android as drawless so 3rd parties would abandon it.
  I’m not saying that it won’t be offered, merely that it would stop being updated (as a feature) for years and eventually fall in disrepair and obsoletion.. Obviously we’d be around so we’d see it happening (or not).
  PS: similar things was said about the tablet environment. That once Google stopped offering 3rd parties, rom makers and OEMs would -at least- continue to, and guess what … they didn’t. There are some buggy implementations nowadays that hardly anyone uses, some of the most unpopular threads in xda -for example- is about adding the tablet env back…
- SnowyCat
  March 5, 2016
  i used app drawers for years…since i used flyme or miui i dont see a point to go back to a launcher with an app drawer..its kinda pointless for me..like an old outdated habbit that does nothing productive^^
- Stef
  March 5, 2016
  Yeah, that’s what I meant by my initial post. People will start using what is on offer and prefer it, that’s what always happens with people, even if you give them fewer features they would love them simply because it’s branded as “new”.
  That’s why I find it troubling that Google chose that route, it’s psychology 101, most would love it simply because it’s “new”, the rest would suffer because Google chose the wrong kind of “new” to offer…
- balcobomber25
  March 6, 2016
  3rd parties aren’t going to abandon something that billions of people are using already. They aren;t going to stop updating it, or coming out with new versions. Nova and Go Launcher aren’t going anywhere, they will always have an app drawer option. You can take your tinfoil hat off.
- Stef
  March 6, 2016
  You don’t seem to address my main point . It already happened to tablets, tablet UI is dead there, nothing tinfoil hattish there.
  It’s simply how things go, demand leads to production. There was a demand for a good drawer when millions used it, when Google turns it into a norm not to use it, the numbers would reduce to thousands (there was a study I’ve read the other day that a significant percentage of people don’t tweak their phones and basically use them as glorified feature phones, i.e. very few apps, etc).
  I honestly doubt that Go or Nova would continue updating that feature. Like I said: disuse -> obsoletion
  Instead of calling iphone’s BS, we turn into it (physical button, no app drawer)… now we need big bezels and small battery to complete the transformation…
- balcobomber25
  March 6, 2016
  Why would you doubt Go will update a feature that millions of people not only use but pay them to use? Do you think they are in business to make money or to appease Google?
- Stef
  March 7, 2016
  Because I think people would stop using the drawer eventually. Again, I have to use tablet UI as my example. Little by little everybody moved away from it…
  When people would get used to the drawless experience they would be spited by a launcher that uses a drawer. So either Go would get on with the times or see their millions reduce to thousands…
- balcobomber25
  March 7, 2016
  Tablet UI is the only thing you have to go on. Everybody moved away from it because Android tablets where never that popular to begin with. They still aren’t really. But App drawers have attracted hundreds of millions of users, they are going nowhere.
  A majority of Go’s (and others launchers) customers come from the Asian markets where app drawers haven’t existed for years. They are still one of the top 10 apps on Android. They already have a history of people wanting an app drawer in an environment where none exists.
- Stef
  March 7, 2016
  My point is that Google sets the pace. Android tablets are first in sales (if we go by OS in tablets).
  If they could drive their own tablets to the ground (even as they were popular in sales) they can certainly do the same to the drawer. They’ll fight tooth and nail to eradicate it, probably block go launcher from play store if they need to (like they did with many other apps that they didn’t like their direction) … we’ll see…
- balcobomber25
  March 7, 2016
  They are not going to block Go Launcher from the Play Store. Are you always this paranoid when new features are announced? If Google was this much of a control freak and wanted everything to be 100% their way they wouldn’t allow the near endless customization options that exist. Their wouldn’t be apps like Cortana that compete with Google Now or Waze that competes with Google Maps. You really need to take a step back and realize how crazy you sound right now.
- Stef
  March 7, 2016
  I’m not being paranoid, they actually did block many apps that went against their policy, like adblockers, they even removed a Samsung browser lately. Lately they have started discouraging rooting too (if you root you can’t use Android Pay). BTW I’m not saying that they *will* block it, they’ll only do “if need be”. I expect Go, along with the other launchers to fall in line and remove the drawer and only make it an optional (probably hidden) feature…
  BTW removing a drawer is not a new feature, the drawer *was* the new feature that android brought forth to contrast with iPhone and feature phones (which had all the apps in front of you).
- balcobomber25
  March 7, 2016
  The app drawer isn’t going anywhere. This is a pointless argument though until we see what happens with Android N.

The Special Juan
March 3, 2016
I prefer front. The sensor on my mx5 has worked fine. However I think I would also like a side scanner, just under the power button, as that is where my thumb naturally tests when holding the phone
Guest
March 3, 2016
Front if you care about looks, rear if you actually want a functional feature.
Joel Adames
March 3, 2016
But in the end … It all comes to preference Andi, dome will have their reasons for prefer back placement and other for Front placement… So it is a dead end this poll, although one side will definitely get more points than the other one… 😉
- trapchan
  March 7, 2016
  and that was the point of a polling. to get the idea which one are more preferred than the others.
Ibrahim Bahakim
March 3, 2016
I think if it is a big phone then back, because you have to hold big phones with two hands and the thumb finger would be natureally behind the phone just on the fingerprint place “I don’t know its name haha”.
But if a small phone like iphone not the plus one then you won’t need to use it with two hands thus your finger can reach the button on the front.
Tajwar
March 3, 2016

Tremaine Underwood
March 3, 2016
Just to play devils advocate a little, there are ways around Pins/Passwords/Fingerprint. I googled it a bit apparently there are 2 ways(all I found in my 10mins of googling :-)). Via recovery(needs a sd card and recovery unlocked) or via usb in an adb command prompt. Not sure yet if it applies to all versions of Android. I want to test this on my e04 and see if it actually works(I will try on Kitkat and Lollipop). If it does then its pretty much only protected from people around you that will quickly try there luck while you are not looking. If someone steals it and wants to get at your data, then there are ways.
- trapchan
  March 7, 2016
  - Tremaine Underwood
    March 7, 2016
    As I said I just did a quick google about getting around being locked out of your phone. I am not trying to promote breaking into people’s phones. I just don’t believe they are that hard to get past if you are determined. I once hacked a Windows Vista password for my neighbor who had locked themselves out of there PC(I must add that I was lucky there since the password was a dictionary word which makes it way easier). I still want to put it to the test with a cellphone, but the Ecoo I have I am currently trying to sell so I don’t really want to fiddle too much.

E8hffff
March 3, 2016
Prefer rear scanner when holding phone, but if phone is in dock or cradle then front. I voted rear.
Young
March 3, 2016
I prefer PIN to finger print. I don’t like in it on the front rather rear.
- trapchan
  March 7, 2016
  I don’t like people to see me entering the pin everytime I want to use the phone.

Guest
March 3, 2016
Unfortunately “NO FINGERPRINT SENSOR” is absent in the option… i am not a kind of paranoia person
- Nilzie
  March 3, 2016
  because its optional to use.
- balcobomber25
  March 3, 2016
  You don’t have to use it, you can completely ignore it and use a pin, pattern, password or nothing.
The Special Juan
March 3, 2016
I prefer front. The sensor on my mx5 has worked fine. However I think I would also like a side scanner, just under the power button, as that is where my thumb naturally tests when holding the phone

Singhapura
March 3, 2016
I just received my Elephone P9000 and must say that the scanner is a pain to use. To position your finger correctly I often brush the “off” button or almost drop the phone trying to turn it around with one hand. My iPhone doesn’t have that problem (lots of other problems though).
- MinusPlusDivide
  March 5, 2016
  I find it’s quite opposite when I handled iPhone6s, everytime I tried to reach for a scanner, I almost drop a phone

smalllbit
March 3, 2016
There are some practical reasons for front.
1. You see the button in front
2. You can handle it when the mobile is placed on a desk
3. You can’t use a cover if the button is placed on the back
- Mihly Slger
  March 3, 2016
  Covers are cut off on the place of the reader
- Assefa Hanson
  March 4, 2016
  1 back gives more room for front facing speakers,
  2 track pad function makes no sense on the front,
  3 as the phone gets larget it get more uncomfortable
  4 thinner bottom bezel
  5 better as a shutter button for selfies
  - trapchan
    March 7, 2016
    1. There’re only a handful (if not less) Chinese oem use front speaker while having Fingerprint on the back.
    2. It doesn’t make any sense to have a trackpad
    3. I imagine it would be the same regardless of the placement
    4. Only LG G2 have thin bottom bezel. Also Mi5 and Samsung’s fingerprint sensor isn’t that huge (unlike iPhone or any phone with rear fingerprint sensor)
    5. Volume button works better than fingerprint sensor as shutter button.
    - Assefa Hanson
      March 7, 2016
      1.) doesnt matter if there is a handful or not, fact still remains there is more screen estate left for front facing speakers without a front facing scanner
      2)if your going to already place your finger on the back scanner to unlock the phone, why not scroll through the phone and do other things with it while your at it, this doesnt make sense for a front scanner since your so close to the screen already with your fingerprint finger
      3)thats not how physics work, you do not hold the phone the same(while using the fingerprint) holding with a back sensor is more ergonomic, you will extend your index finger parallel to the phone vs more diagonal/horizontal with front scanner, not only that but you also clasp the phone more, how can you say it would be the same regardless?
      4) doesnt matter what you say, if there is a fingerprint sensor in the front it will always use more bezel vs if it were at the back
      5)dont care about volume buttons the arguement is between fingerprint sensors
- trapchan
  March 7, 2016

Ibrahim Bahakim
March 3, 2016
I think if it is a big phone then back, because you have to hold big phones with two hands and the thumb finger would be natureally behind the phone just on the fingerprint place “I don’t know its name haha”.
But if a small phone like iphone not the plus one then you won’t need to use it with two hands thus your finger can reach the button on the front.
Tajwar
March 3, 2016

Tremaine Underwood
March 3, 2016
Just to play devils advocate a little, there are ways around Pins/Passwords/Fingerprint. I googled it a bit apparently there are 2 ways(all I found in my 10mins of googling :-)). Via recovery(needs a sd card and recovery unlocked) or via usb in an adb command prompt. Not sure yet if it applies to all versions of Android. I want to test this on my e04 and see if it actually works(I will try on Kitkat and Lollipop). If it does then its pretty much only protected from people around you that will quickly try there luck while you are not looking. If someone steals it and wants to get at your data, then there are ways.
- trapchan
  March 7, 2016
  how about you tell us what you search?
- Tremaine Underwood
  March 7, 2016
  As I said I just did a quick google about getting around being locked out of your phone. I am not trying to promote breaking into people’s phones. I just don’t believe they are that hard to get past if you are determined. I once hacked a Windows Vista password for my neighbor who had locked themselves out of there PC(I must add that I was lucky there since the password was a dictionary word which makes it way easier). I still want to put it to the test with a cellphone, but the Ecoo I have I am currently trying to sell so I don’t really want to fiddle too much.

E8hffff
March 3, 2016
Prefer rear scanner when holding phone, but if phone is in dock or cradle then front. I voted rear.
Young
March 3, 2016
I prefer PIN to finger print. I don’t like in it on the front rather rear.
- trapchan
  March 7, 2016
  I don’t like people to see me entering the pin everytime I want to use the phone.
Singhapura
March 3, 2016
I just received my Elephone P9000 and must say that the scanner is a pain to use. To position your finger correctly I often brush the “off” button or almost drop the phone trying to turn it around with one hand. My iPhone doesn’t have that problem (lots of other problems though).
- Guest
  March 5, 2016
  I find it’s quite opposite when I handled iPhone6s, everytime I tried to reach for a scanner, I almost drop a phone
smalllbit
March 3, 2016
There are some practical reasons for front.
1. You see the button in front
2. You can handle it when the mobile is placed on a desk
3. You can’t use a cover if the button is placed on the back
- ezclap
  March 3, 2016
  Covers are cut off on the place of the reader
- Assefa Hanson
  March 4, 2016
  1 back gives more room for front facing speakers,
  2 track pad function makes no sense on the front,
  3 as the phone gets larget it get more uncomfortable
  4 thinner bottom bezel
  5 better as a shutter button for selfies
- trapchan
  March 7, 2016
  1. There’re only a handful (if not less) Chinese oem use front speaker while having Fingerprint on the back.
  2. It doesn’t make any sense to have a trackpad
  3. I imagine it would be the same regardless of the placement
  4. Only LG G2 have thin bottom bezel. Also Mi5 and Samsung’s fingerprint sensor isn’t that huge (unlike iPhone or any phone with rear fingerprint sensor)
  5. Volume button works better than fingerprint sensor as shutter button.
- trapchan
  March 7, 2016
  No. 2 is my main reason why I prefer it on the front
- Assefa Hanson
  March 7, 2016
  1.) doesnt matter if there is a handful or not, fact still remains there is more screen estate left for front facing speakers without a front facing scanner
  2)if your going to already place your finger on the back scanner to unlock the phone, why not scroll through the phone and do other things with it while your at it, this doesnt make sense for a front scanner since your so close to the screen already with your fingerprint finger
  3)thats not how physics work, you do not hold the phone the same(while using the fingerprint) holding with a back sensor is more ergonomic, you will extend your index finger parallel to the phone vs more diagonal/horizontal with front scanner, not only that but you also clasp the phone more, how can you say it would be the same regardless?
  4) doesnt matter what you say, if there is a fingerprint sensor in the front it will always use more bezel vs if it were at the back
  5)dont care about volume buttons the arguement is between fingerprint sensors
Cpaun
March 3, 2016
I really like it sideways, Sony Z5 style 🙂
Cpaun
March 3, 2016
I really like it sideways, Sony Z5 style 🙂

BotondKisKovacs
March 3, 2016
I want it on the side. I always have a finger on the side of the phone although it would be relatively easy to slide it to the spot where the scanner would be on the back.
The new MI5 would look a lot better if it had the scanner on the back (or even better on the side) so the home button wouldn’t ruin the buttonless look I got used to and love.
Alternatively an ultrasound front scanner hidden under the display would also be nice as long as there is no physical button.

Ali Khan
March 3, 2016
considering looks and screen to body ratio ideal placement for fingerprint scanner is the rear.
considering the practicality its the front chin

BotondKisKovacs
March 3, 2016
I want it on the side. I always have a finger on the side of the phone although it would be relatively easy to slide it to the spot where the scanner would be on the back.
The new MI5 would look a lot better if it had the scanner on the back (or even better on the side) so the home button wouldn’t ruin the buttonless look I got used to and love.
Alternatively an ultrasound front scanner hidden under the display would also be nice as long as there is no physical button.
Ali Khan
March 3, 2016
considering looks and screen to body ratio ideal placement for fingerprint scanner is the rear.
considering the practicality its the front chin
wackenroader
March 3, 2016

Poll: Front or rear fingerprint scanner?

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