Google reportedly launching native fingerprint authentication w/ Android ‘M’

Google is set to launch Android ‘M’ at Google I/O next week, and now a new report from BuzzFeed News suggests that the company will be launching native fingerprint authentication features with the new version…

Google’s new mobile operating system, Android M, will include native fingerprint authentication, BuzzFeed News has learned. The new functionality will allow users to log in to all of the supported applications on their Android devices without entering a password.

The report is very light on details, but it does note that users will be able to log in to “all supported applications” on their devices without entering a password. Unless there are some unforeseen circumstances, it seems we’ll be hearing  more about the feature in just about a week…

The Nexus 6 was rumored to be shipping with a fingerprint scanner located around back, but the company scrapped the feature not long before the phone actually launched. So support for fingerprint scanners in Google’s software has long been in the works, and it would make sense that the company is finally ready to deliver.

There is a lot to be expected with Android M, and Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo did a great job of rounding a list of these things up earlier today. Interestingly, he also notes that an official fingerprint API is likely to be in the works and that “we have every reason to expect a release in Android M.”