The Pixel 9 series' fingerprint sensors have one big, overdue upgrade

When a family of new flagship smartphones debuts, what kind of features are going to take center stage? Maybe a versatile new camera, powerful custom processor, and even tricks like satellite connectivity? Stuff like that’s pretty easy to get shoppers feeling excited about, and with the new Pixel 9 phones today, Google’s got lots of that to show off. While not quite as sexy, the new Pixels are also picking up one very important enhancement to their biometric security with the long-overdue arrival of ultrasonic fingerprint scanners.

There are several different ways a phone can use sensors to analyze a user’s fingerprint. Optical scanners, like the majority of those embedded in a phone’s screen, take a picture of your fingerprint, and while that works, it’s far from the most secure option.

Capacitive scanners use electricity to detect the ridges and valleys that make up your prints. This is the kind you’ll normally find embedded in one of your phone’s physical buttons — and indeed, that’s just the type we’re getting with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. But right now, that model is the exception that proves the rule because all the other phones in the Pixel 9 lineup are going to be Google’s first to switch to an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner.

Ultrasonic scanners use sound waves to model the delicate structure of your fingerprint — you can almost think of it like tiny (and not underwater) sonar. Not relying on optics tends to allow scanners like these to be more tolerant of less-than-ideal operating conditions, plus you get to avoid that flash of light in a dark room from an optical sensor trying to illuminate your print. Competing flagships have already started making the move, and we’ve just been waiting for Google to get with the program.

As we mentioned in our exclusive report many months before the Pixel 9 launch, the Pixel 9 series uses Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Gen 2 (QFS4008) — the same exact model as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

If you’ve been at all dissatisfied with the fingerprint-unlock experience on a recent Pixel model, you’re going to owe it to yourself to check this upgrade out. After all, between more secure, more reliable, and straight-up faster, what’s not to like?