Google evaluating a firmware update to add fingerprint scanner gesture to Nexus 5X & 6P

One of the new features to come with the Pixel and the Pixel XL is the fingerprint scanner gesture. This is nothing new in the Android ecosystem, and we have already seen this being implemented by many other third party manufacturers. Also, this feature on the Pixel smartphones is limited to only to one gesture which basically allows you swipe the scanner to access the notification shade. This is very much an Android 7.1 feature, but it was not brought to the Nexus 6P or the 5X.

Well, they wanted to keep it exclusive to the Pixel smartphones. But when you already have these features with other smartphones, then it pretty much doesn’t make any sense in keeping it exclusive to the Pixel after all. And that got many of the last gen Nexus users excited, and they started expecting this new feature on their smartphone. However, the question to be answered here is whether or not, Google is going to bring the feature to other smartphones.

According to our source, it looks like it might not happen after all. But it doesn’t mean Google is not considering the idea. It has been reported that the company is now evaluating a firmware update for the last gen Nexus smartphones. This new firmware update will push the gesture feature to these smartphones. While it is mentioned that they are only evaluating it, it not confirmed if it will ever be rolled out to public. Hence if you are waiting for it, then the only thing that you should know is that it may or may not happen.

With that being said, it is at least good to see that they are considering the idea, which is a huge deal. Taking feedback from users is one thing and actually implementing it or trying to put it to work together is another. Hence the fact that they are willing to explore the feasibility of providing the feature to last year’s Nexus owners is appreciable. But other than that, the company didn’t have any other news or info regarding the same. This means we don’t know if such an update would arrive, or what factors would come into play when considering adding the feature or not.

Since this is Android, there are a couple of workarounds. If you want to have the gesture feature on your Android smartphone right now, then check out the tutorial on How to enable Pixel’s Fingerprint Swipe Notification Gesture on Other Devices and get it today, without having to wait for them to push the update. And at this point, we don’t even know if it will ever happen and if yes, when? So it is safe to say that as of now, it is exclusive to only the Pixel smartphones. Well, unless you are into an idea of buying one, you can always take the help of the tutorial and get the feature right now. Stay tuned for more info on this as we will update once we have a confirmation.

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