Nexus 6 Could Have Had Fingerprint Scanning Capability

It seems that some folks have discovered on how the Nexus 6 does indeed come with some semblance of waterproof resistance, despite it not being officially included in the list of features. Well, here we are with word that the Nexus 6, too, could actually have come with a built-in fingerprint scanner, now how about that? This was brought to light after some bit of Android source code did point to such a general direction, with indication that Google continues to work on an official fingerprint API for Android.

This “discovery” was stumbled upon by Ron Amadeo, who went through the commits to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and saw the relevant evidence. A commit that hailed from late August was labeled as “shamu: remove fingerprint support”, which pointed to how prototypes did make use of a fingerprint scanner from Validity Sensors, Inc, which is a company that was picked up by Synaptics in the previous year. Apart from that, the company has also pointed to clear touchscreen-based fingerprint scanners before.

Of course, there were also commits to AOSP that actually hid the fingerprint API code in Lollipop, at least until the new API is ready. It is said that this would be a “swipe style” fingerprint scanner that is found in Samsung devices, as opposed to Apple’s TouchID sensor that sees action on an iPhone at the moment.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Nexus 6