Huawei’s Porsche Design Mate RS takes in-display fingerprint readers "mainstream"

The pressure on Samsung to include an in-display fingerprint reader in the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has just been ratcheted up a notch with Huawei’s announcement of the Porsche Design Mate RS, their new high-end flagship.

The device features several high-end features, including the option of 512 GB storage, 6 GB of RAM and  3 rear cameras which offer features such as 40-megapixel resolution,  loss-less zoom and laser auto-focus, but the most exciting feature from a large OEM is the in-display optical fingerprint reader.

The device actually offers 2 fingerprint readers (a rear one and an in-display one) meaning all preferences are catered for.

Huawei writes:

The pioneering in-screen fingerprint design unleashes a revolution in unlocking. Floating your finger wakes up the device and touching to unlock the smartphone is as fast as lightning. Two actions at one go. The dual fingerprint identification in both front and back are also easy keys to switch separate mobile spaces, a new level of privacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MQpfyT6Klw

While the device would be the first from a large OEM with an in-display fingerprint reader, it is not quite mainstream, with prices rather stratospheric.  The 256GB version costs €1,695 (about $2,109), and 512GB for €2095 ($2,607) and should hit the market this April.

It does however set the expectation that expensive handsets such as the $1000+ Note 9 should have an in-display fingerprint reader, with the most recent rumours suggesting that Samsung will indeed go that route.

See a hands-on with the device below:

Read more about the device at Huawei’s micro-site here.