Android M to include native fingerprint authentication
Google’s next version of Android will apparently feature built in fingerprint authentication software.
Android M will be announced at next week’s Google I/O, but there haven’t been too many tip offs as to how it will look or any of its major new features.
According to a brief new BuzzFeed report, however, one of those new features will be native fingerprint authentication.
It seems as if this will go deeper than merely granting entry to your home screen. Rather, it will allow users to log in to any supported applications without having to remember a dozen individual passwords.
This report gains weight when you consider reports that the feature nearly made its way into Lollipop. According to code discovered late last year, the Nexus 6 was intended to have a fingerprint sensor at one point.
It’s an assertion that seemed to be confirmed by Dropbox executive Dennis Woodside back in January. The former Motorola executive claimed that the dimple on the back of the Nexus 6 was supposed to house a fingerprint sensor, but that Apple’s acquisition of the then-best sensor maker scuppered their plans.
Read More: Google I/O 2015: What to expect
Of course, these rumours and reports don’t mention anything about Android M or the likelihood that it will feature fingerprint scanning technology.
But the fact that it was so close to being implemented into Android Lollipop, and the fact that other fingerprint scanner manufacturers have since caught up with Apple’s TouchID solution (just look at the Samsung Galaxy S6 for proof) certainly points in that direction.