Itel has built its entire brand around making smartphones as affordable as possible, and that focus comes with hardware trade offs. For anyone searching for itel phones with on screen fingerprint scanners, the list is much shorter than expected. Placing a biometric sensor beneath a display panel demands an AMOLED screen, which costs significantly more to manufacture. Since most itel devices use cheaper IPS LCD panels, the overwhelming majority of the lineup relies on physical fingerprint scanners mounted on the power button or the back of the device.
This also means the list of itel phones with an under display fingerprint sensor is very short. Only three devices across the entire itel catalog carry this feature, and all three are part of the S series. Here is everything you need to know about each one.
Quick Links
1. Itel S25 Ultra
The S25 Ultra sits at the top of itel’s lineup and is the most premium device the brand currently produces. It pairs an under screen optical fingerprint sensor with a 6.78 inch 3D curved AMOLED display running at 120Hz, with a peak brightness of 1400 nits and Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection on top.
The processor inside is a Unisoc T620 built on a 12nm architecture. Storage is 256GB paired with 8GB of RAM. On the camera side, it has a 50MP main rear sensor and a 32MP front camera. The battery is 5000mAh with 18W wired fast charging.
The build itself is notably slim at 6.9mm thick and 163 grams, and it carries an IP64 rating for dust and water resistance, which is a rare addition at this price tier.
2. Itel S25 (Standard)
Launched alongside the Ultra, the standard S25 drops the curved screen in favor of a flat panel but keeps the same AMOLED display quality and the under-display optical fingerprint scanner.
The display is a 6.78 inch flat AMOLED screen at 120Hz with a peak brightness of 1800 nits, actually brighter than the Ultra model. It runs on the same Unisoc T620 processor, with storage options of 128GB and RAM choices of either 6GB or 8GB.
Camera hardware is identical to the Ultra, with a 50MP rear sensor and a 32MP front camera. The battery is 5000mAh with 18W fast charging. It measures 7.3mm thick, weighs 185 grams, and carries an IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance.
3. Itel S23 Plus
The S23 Plus holds a notable place in itel’s history as the first device the brand ever released with a fingerprint scanner buried beneath the glass panel. It brought curved AMOLED screen engineering down to the budget tier for the first time, moving biometric verification completely away from the chassis frame.
The display is a 6.78 inch 3D curved AMOLED screen protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, running at 60Hz with a peak brightness of 500 nits. It runs on a Unisoc Tiger T616 processor, also built on a 12nm architecture. Storage options include 128GB or 256GB, paired with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM.
Camera hardware includes a 50MP rear sensor and a 32MP front camera. The battery is 5000mAh with 18W wired charging. It measures 7.9mm thick and weighs 178 grams. Unlike the S25 models, it does not carry an official IP water or dust resistance rating.
Why Most Itel Phones Cannot Have This Feature
For anyone browsing the wider itel catalog and wondering why the under display scanner only appears on three devices, the answer is straightforward. Any itel phone built around an IPS LCD display, which covers most of the lineup including models like the S24, P65, and RS4, is physically incapable of housing an optical sensor beneath the screen. The technology simply does not work through LCD panels. Those devices use physical scanners on the side frame or back plate instead.
One thing worth knowing before buying any itel device is that the phrase “screen unlock” in itel’s marketing materials does not always mean there is a physical sensor under the glass. On many entry level models, this phrase refers to basic face recognition using the front camera, a software based process with no physical sensor involved at all.
The only way to confirm a genuine under-display fingerprint scanner is to check that the device uses an AMOLED panel and is one of the three models listed above.
The Itel S25 Ultra, S25 Standard, and S23 Plus are the only three itel phones that carry an under display optical fingerprint scanner. Each one is built around an AMOLED display, which is what makes this feature possible in the first place. For budget buyers who want this specific feature from itel, the S series is the only place to look.
