Google Might Use an Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor for the Pixel 9

Ever since it shifted from using rear-mounted fingerprint scanners to in-display hardware, Google’s Pixel phone have often been criticized for their lacklustre biometric accuracy, especially in a day and age where even more affordable smartphones can afford to use faster ultrasonic fingerprint sensors.

Perhaps Google was listening after all, and it’s now rumored that the company might use the Qualcomm 3D Sonic Gen 2 for its Pixel 9 series phones, a much faster and more reliable scanner. For context, this is the same kind of scanner that Samsung uses for the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

READ: The Pixel 9 could come with exclusive new AI features

Previously, Google used optical fingerprint scanners with the Pixel 6 up until the Pixel 8a, which worked by shining a bright light onto a user’s fingerprint to read it, although this proved finnicky to use with screen protectors. To be fair though, the fingerprint sensors used in the Pixel 8 series performed better compared to older models, which were usually slow and inaccurate.

Google is set to launch the Pixel 9 series this August, two months earlier than its usual October release schedule.

Source: 9to5Google