The first Korean report published this morning claims that an industry insider is saying that Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S5 would sport a display without a bezel while allowing users to scan their fingerprints at the bottom of the smartphone screen. The phone will also eliminate the home button hardware featured on the previous Galaxy models.

Samsung Still Struggling with their Full-Screen Fingerprint Scanner

According to their report's Korean source, "The finger-scanning technology will be available on the bottom left and right sides, and not the entire display."

The source further stated that "Scanning fingerprints on the entire screen, which was much talked about recently, will be available in the latter half of this year as there are still technological hurdles to overcome." He later added that the production yield for the full-screen fingerprint scanner is still far from satisfactory.

Slimmer Design due to Slimmer Display

The report also notes that industry watchers believe the next Galaxy phone will be even slimmer. This is because while the existing touch panels widely used for other smartphones consist of four layers including two ITO (indium tin oxide) films, Samsung will be utilizing a new panel technology that would further trim the depth of the phone.

The single-layered panel enhances the display's transparency level, leading to improved energy efficiency and viewing accuracy, another industry source said. This is also the secret to bezel-free displays, allowing for the removal of the side bezels.

Last but not least, the Galaxy S5 will allow users to swipe and activate the screen while wearing gloves. "With the help of increased sensitivity on the panel, users will be able to swipe and tap on the screen with their gloves on," the source said.

While the bezel-free design would be a nice touch, the report states that some critics are casting doubt on the adoption of a bezel-free display, saying that the panels could become too vulnerable to external impact. Samsung has been working on the bezel-free technology since 2012 under the project codenamed Project B or Galaxy B.

Samsung Still Agonizing over Adoption of AP for Its Galaxy S5

A secondary Korean report published today states that the industry is paying close attention to whether or not Samsung will select its Exynos AP to be used in its new flagship product.

According to sources in the semiconductor and mobile industries on Feb. 9, Samsung is testing both its own Exynos Application Processor (AP) and Qualcomm's Snapdragon AP to decide between the two for the Galaxy S5, before the Feb. 24 introduction.

Samsung is reportedly intensifying efforts to feature its Exynos AP in the new model. The Exynos processor for the Galaxy S5 will be 32-bit, with a built-in a quad-core chip.

More interesting is the fact that the report noted a source close to Samsung saying that "The support for 64-bit is not perfect yet," adding that "The 64-bit Exynos 6 AP is more likely used in the next model of the Galaxy Note 3." Forget that "not perfect yet" line. It's just not ready for prime time, period. Who are they kidding?

While Samsung has been debating which AP to use, a Samsung source is saying that they're leaning towards the Snapdragon 805 processor for the Galaxy S5: "The Snapdragon processor proved to be superior to the Exynos AP in a lot of areas, including functions, communications and power efficiency. So, it is impracticable to use the Exynos processor right now."

In the end, Samsung is struggling to match both Apple's advanced fingerprint solution known as Touch ID and delivering a 64 bit processor for their premium smartphones. They'll reportedly have a fingerprint scanner ready for the Galaxy S5, though as the report suggests, it's a rushed version that will likely be replaced as early as this fall. The bottom line is that great copycat machine is struggling to keep up with higher-end features of Apple's iPhone 5S.

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