Samsung has to cover a lot of ground to regain the trust of its users, and one thing that may be able to do is to listen to the feedback as they beta test the Android 7.0 Nougat update. One of the things that users have reportedly been asking is for the Korean OEM to add gesture functionality to the fingerprint sensor so that it will become a little more useful. Samsung said that they are “trying to improve the features of the Fingerprint Scanner.”
That answer was given to one of the beta testers who asked if Samsung plans to add fingerprint gestures, like the ones that we’re seeing now with Google Pixel and Pixel XL. While that’s not exactly a yes, the fact that they answered it that way may give hope for those asking for more uses for the sensor (well at least for those who have fingerprint sensors on their phones), other than just unlocking your device.
If you’re not familiar with the fingerprint gestures, it allows those who have the Pixel devices to just swipe down on their sensor if they want to access their notification shade. It will be useful for those who have a finger at the back of their phone while using it, particularly since Samsung devices have front-facing fingerprint sensors, at least for now. Rumor has it that the upcoming Galaxy S8 will be sporting a sensor at the back instead, so this gesture will come in handy as well.
But since this version of Nougat is still in beta, this fingerprint gesture can go either way at this point for the final version. We might see some sort of version of this for the beta of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge at some time in the near future.
VIA: SAM Mobile
