Verizon Galaxy S8 duo updated with faster face recognition

It may not be the Android 8.0 Oreo update, but it brings faster face recognition, improvements to the navigation bar, and other bug fixes.

Verizon’s been busy rolling out updates today, it seems: the Pixel and Pixel XL started receiving the highly anticipated Android 8.0 Oreo, and now, it’s time for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. No, this isn’t the Oreo update, but the minor software update brings some important improvements to Samsung’s flagship duo.

The biggest change is probably the ability to enable faster face recognition: as the US carrier states on its website, if you use face recognition as the primary mode of phone security, you can enable this new feature for added convenience. However, it does warn, “To increase security, allow your device to take its time and thoroughly scan your face by leaving the “Faster recognition” option off.”

The update also brings a small but necessary change to the navigation bar. With the previous update, users could to hide the on-screen navigation bar to maximize the screen by tapping on a dot in the bottom left corner, but it was extremely prone to accidental touches. The new update now makes you double tap to lock and hide the navigation bar. Much better.

Other than that, the latest builds NRD90M.G950USQU1AQGL for the regular S8 and NRD90M.G955USQU1AQGL for the S8 Plus bring minor bug fixes:

• Faster face recognition
• Navigation bar “Show and hide button” updated to interact with a double tap
• Alarm notifications on the AOD (Always On Display) fix
• Briefing card update notification fix
• Car Bluetooth music browser issue fix
• Caller Name ID app update
• Smart Switch app update
• For B2B enterprise customers (VPN and Knox improvements)

Have you received the software update on your Galaxy S8 device? If you haven’t yet, go to Settings > About phone > Software updates to check!