Google started pushing out the Android 7.1.2 developer preview to the Nexus 6P, as revealed by the company’s community manager Orrin Hancock. The package is just under 1.3GB in size and is being distributed as an over-the-air (OTA) update to users participating in the Android Beta Program. For one reason or another, the latest beta build of the Android operating system still doesn’t bring fingerprint gestures to the Nexus 6P despite the fact that the Nexus 5X already supports them in beta. It’s currently unclear why this discrepancy exists seeing how both the Nexus 6P and the Nexus 5X use the same fingerprint sensor. Regardless, as Google previously confirmed it’s considering updating the 2015 Nexus devices with fingerprint gestures that initially debuted with the Google Pixel and the Pixel XL and seeing how the Nexus 5X already supports them in beta, it’s possible that the feature will finally be released along with the public version of Android 7.1.2.
In any case, owners of the Nexus 6P participating in the Android Beta Program should soon start receiving the build NPG05F if they haven’t already. While it’s been over three weeks since Google initially began rolling out the Android 7.1.2 developer preview, the latest build for the Huawei-made Nexus phone is still packed with the January Security Update and doesn’t seem to ship with fixes for any bugs that were identified in the initial version of the software. The most annoying issue beta testers have been complaining about in recent weeks was the bug that prevented them from configuring their Wi-Fi settings and that problem is still present in the NPG05F build for the Nexus 6P.
While Google still hasn’t posted the factory images of the latest Android beta build for the Nexus 6P, all owners of the device participating in the Android Beta Program should be able to download the OTA update directly to their handset by the end of the day. More information on fingerprint gestures support will hopefully follow soon seeing how owners of the Nexus 5X have already been enjoying the ability to bring down the notification shade by swiping down their fingerprint sensor for a few weeks now and that functionality would be even more useful on a larger device like the Nexus 6P.
