Kellen
The fingerprint reader on your Pixel 9 series phone could soon add a new feature to its speedy unlockness. Spotted in the latest Android 16 Developer Preview 2, a new setting will let you unlock the phone even if your screen is completely off.
Here’s the deal here. Fingerprint readers that are embedded in displays, like the ones on almost every Pixel phone in recent memory, unlock when the screen is awake or at least in an always-on state that shows the outline of the fingerprint reader. But for those who don’t keep an AOD active, the fingerprint reader won’t work unless the phone is awake. This could be frustrating, as it requires an extra tap or button press before you can unlock your phone with a fingerprint.
In the latest Android 16 DP2 build that dropped yesterday, a new toggle in Fingerprint Unlock settings called “Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock” will allow for the fingerprint reader to be ready for you at all times, even if your screen is off. While you may not see the outline of the reader, as long as you know where it’s at, you can place your finger on it to activate the unlock sequence.
That’s cool, right?
According to the report linked below, this may only work for phones with ultrasonic fingerprint readers. Since the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL are the only Pixel phones with those types of readers, they are the only devices to see it at this time. Of course, future Pixel phones could too, assuming they keep the same excellent fingerprint readers that Google put in its latest top phones.
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