Samsung’s Android 7.0 Nougat beta program for the Galaxy S7 rolled out about a month ago, and throughout this time the South Korean company has received and sorted through a lot of customer feedback. Interestingly enough, one user-submitted suggestion, in particular, might be making its way onto the final version of Android 7.0 Nougat, allowing Samsung Galaxy S7 owners to perform fingerprint gestures and enrich their experience.
Fingerprint gestures have been implemented in Android 7.1 Nougat, specifically on Google’s own Pixel smartphones which accommodate a fingerprint recognition sensor on their back panels. For instance, a Google Pixel smartphone allows a user to swipe down on the fingerprint scanner in order to gain access to the notification shade. Needless to say, throughout the Android 7.0 Nougat beta program for Samsung’s Galaxy S7 lineup, a user asked if the company could allow for using the fingerprint scanner through swipe gestures similar to how the sensor works on the Google Pixel, and although Samsung didn’t outright confirm that this feature will be available, the company did reply and added that they are “trying to improve the features of the Fingerprint Scanner”. What this could mean for Samsung Galaxy S7 owners is that fingerprint gestures might arrive along with the public Android 7.0 Nougat release, or could be implemented at a later date through a smaller update on top of Android 7.0 Nougat. Either that or Samsung is currently working on different ways to improve and expand upon the fingerprint scanner’s functionality.
There’s also a possibility that Samsung might save this feature for a public roll-out following the launch of the Galaxy S8 next year, which – according to some rumors – could accommodate a fingerprint recognition scanner on the back panel much like the Google Pixel smartphones, as opposed to embedding the sensor into the home button. In other words, fingerprint gestures could debut as a new feature on the Samsung Galaxy S8, and might be rolled-out through a software update on select Samsung Galaxy S devices equipped with fingerprint recognition sensors. On the other hand, some rumors have also indicated that Samsung’s next flagship phone could hide the fingerprint sensor beneath the surface of the screen thanks to Y-OCTA display technology, and this could arguably make fingerprint gestures obsolete.