2016 Nexuses to gain HUAWEI-like finger scanner gesture controls

You know how on Huawei phones you can use the fingerprint scanner as a kind of trackpad for navigating the interface? To drag down the notifications shade and swipe through photo albums etc? Well, it looks like at least one of those gesture controls is bound for the new Nexuses as well.

Android Police has obtained a setup screen for the feature, where it demonstrates using the finger scanner on the back of the phone to open the notifications shade. While there is no mention of using the scanner to swipe through menus or double tap to clear all notifications, if you’re going to add one gesture you may as well add a couple (assuming HUAWEI doesn’t object). You can also see the toggle for disabling the feature.

The next big question is whether or not the feature will be retroactively granted to the Nexus 6P and 5X – the only other two Nexuses equipped with finger scanners. While lots of folks hoped the feature would be ported to the Nexus 6P as a flashable zip (seeing as HUAWEI made it and all), that never happened for security reasons. But if Google adds the feature then Nexus owners are golden.

The setup demo also shows the new navigation buttons at the bottom, with the filled-in buttons and the Google Assistant detail around the circular Home button. According Android Police‘s sources, the button animates when activated but occasionally gets stuck, as it is in the screenshot. Generally, the green and blue dots would sit flush with the circular white button.

Do you like the idea of scanner navigation? Pumped for Google Assistant?