Samsung Galaxy S5 Finger Scanner vs. Apple iPhone 5s Touch ID

Fingerprint scanners are most commonly found on business-oriented laptops, but they have also been offered on Android devices like the Motorola ATRIX 4G in the past. Users generally need to train the scanner to identify the users fingerprints and then use a swipe motion to allow the scanner to detect and identify your finger. Apple may have reinvented the way we interact with our smartphones with the release of the Apple iPhone 5s, but how does it compare with the finger scanner on the Samsung Galaxy S5?

Apple changed the way we interacted with fingerprint scanners with their Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5s home key. Instead of  having to swipe your finger over the sense, the Touch ID detects your finger as soon as it is placed on the sensor. Thus making it much easier to interact with your device. Upon initial setup, Apple's creation takes a “snapshot” of your fingerprint in all possible positions, so you can unlock the phone with the slightest touch, no matter how crooked your digit lands. The Touch ID is also used to authorize iTunes purchases, instead of users having to type in their passwords, which also makes things faster and easier.

Samsung responded by releasing a fingerprint scanner on their own flagship. However the Samsung Galaxy S5 employs a swipe method instead of the touch style used on the iPhone 5s. The fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S5, requiring you to swipe directly over the home key for it to work, which means that you usually have to hold the phone with the other hand. Because of the iPhone 5s size, its easier to use the scanner with a single hand, while the larger Galaxy S5 and the swipe motion results in a risk of dropping your device and requiring a bit of practice to get used to.

On the other hand the Galaxy S5 has the advantage of secure payment authorizations when purchasing content from Samsung services, too. It, however, also adds a convenient PayPal authorization, which works in 26 countries, namely US, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.