Nine months out from a likely launch date, the rumor mill has started on Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s next flagship Galaxy S10 — and after disappointing S9 sales, it’s looking like it might be a winner.

The spec rumors come from well-regarded analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who claims the S10 will come in three different models: 5.8 inches, 6.1 inches and 6.4 inches. Confirming a longstanding rumor, Kuo claimed the 6.1-inch and 6.4-inch models will finally offer on-screen fingerprint scanning, a feature that was rumored for the S9 but was allegedly abandoned thanks to supply issues.

An ultrasonic fingerprint scanner built into the display has become fairly commonplace in leading models from Chinese phone makers such as Xiaomi Corp.’s Mi8, Vivo Communication Technology Co.’s X20 Plus UD and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s RS Porsche models. But it has yet to be seen in models popular in the west. Apple Inc. is said to have “snubbed” the option in all its models, including the flagship iPhone X in place of face scanning as a security tool.

Apple’s decision to ignore the technology is relevant, since Kuo claimed Samsung will “aggressively” promote the on-screen fingerprint scanning precisely because “it’s one feature Apple’s not planning to match.”

For those who either aren’t interested in the S10 or can’t afford one, Kuo went on to note that the fingerprint scanning technology will also be offered in Samsung’s midrange Galaxy A models and its Galaxy S10 Note models later in 2019.

Kuo concluded his predictions, first reported by Business Insider, on a positive note by suggesting that Samsung is likely to ship 40 million S10 units. It’s hard to pin down exactly how many S9 units Samsung has sold, but by all accounts, sales have been highly disappointing.

The reasons for the S9’s poor sales simply come down to the phone being only an incremental improvement of the S8, and the S8’s own selling point over the S7 was simply a bezelless screen. A new model in the form of the S10 that’s truly innovative and stands out from the previous three models might get Samsung fans not only excited but happy to hand over their money.

Photo: Wikipedia