TOKYO: Did you know that the Google Nexus 6 manufactured by Motorola was initially supposed to include a fingerprint sensor? We did of course have some hint that it was in the making, with code commits doing rounds suggesting the same, but apparently the move was scrapped at the very last minute. Little did we know that Cupertino giant Apple was to blame for it.
You heard that right: initially penned to be included as a major security feature in the Nexus 6, the fingerprint sensor feature was dropped by Motorola due to its sub-par quality. And, Apple was the evident reason behind it. In an interview to the UK-based Telegraph, former CEO of Motorola Dennis Woodside has revealed that the Nexus 6 would have had a fingerprint sensor if Apple hadn’t acquired fingerprint sensor maker AuthenTec in 2012.
“The secret behind that is that it was supposed to be fingerprint recognition, and Apple bought the best supplier. So the second-best supplier was the only one available to everyone else in the industry and they weren’t there yet.” Woodside was quoted as saying by the Telegraph.
There you have it. So apparently the curved depression that carefully houses the Motorola logo on the Nexus 6 was supposed the carry a fingerprint sensor, sadly, it was never meant to be.
Notably, the iPhone 5S was the first smartphone from Apple’s stable to come with the fingerprint sensor technology. The technology essentially enables users to access certain features of the device by simply sensing a person’s fingerprint. Touted to be an important security feature, the technology has seen its share of controversies, in that recent instances have revealed it’s not that tough to hack into it.
