Latest Samsung Galaxy S5 rumors point to 5.2″ screen, swiping fingerprint sensor

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 reveal is less than a week away — so naturally, the leaks are coming in full force.

The new flagship smartphone will reportedly include a 5.2-inch screen, slightly larger than the S4’s 5-inch display, according to Bloomberg. And it seems Samsung is once again taking a cue from Apple, this time by including a fingerprint sensor in the S5’s home button, reports Sammobile.

While we’ve heard that Samsung was exploring eye-scanning authentication technology, that always sounded like more of a pipedream than a realistic feature to me. It would require an extremely sharp front-facing camera, plus a way to make your eyes clearly visible for authentication in low light. Ultimately, it sounds like Samsung found it easier to go the fingerprint scanning route.

According to Sammobile, you’ll have to swipe your finger on the Galaxy S5’s home button to authenticate your fingerprint. Apple’s iPhone 5S, on the other hand, simply requires you to rest your thumb on its home button — no swiping required. If true, Samsung’s fingerprint sensor implementation would be similar to what we’ve seen on laptops from Lenovo and other computer makers.

That’s not a good thing: In my experience, swiping fingerprint sensors are far more prone to error. While I’ve had occasional issues with the iPhone 5S’s Touch ID sensor, it’s been far more responsive than any sensor I’ve used in the past. (Similarly, HTC tried its hand at a fingerprint sensor in the One Max, which was widely panned.)

The Galaxy S5 is also rumored to sport a higher resolution display than the S4 — though that doesn’t mean much, since the S4’s screen was already incredibly sharp. It’s also expected to pack in a 16 megapixel camera, compared to the S4’s 13MP shooter.

While the Galaxy S4 was a solid phone, it wasn’t as successful as Samsung’s investors would have liked, which ultimately led to a $12 billion market value blow last year. With the S5, Samsung needs to prove it can innovate, not just offer slightly better specs.