Last week, during its yearly and awaited developer conference in San Francisco, Google unveiled Android M, which will be available to the public next summer.
One of its main new features is “Android Pay,” the improved version of Google Wallet of which the future is unclear at this point. “Android Pay” will let the user pay for things with his or her phone, without having to open an app, via fingerprint sensors for in-store and in-app purchases. It works more or less the same way as main competitor Apple Pay.
Android M’s fingerprint sensors were developed in cooperation with Swedish Fingerprint Card (FPC). The fingerprint sensor will enable app developers to take advantage of fingerprint sensors securely, eliminating the need for PIN codes or passwords to identify and verify the user.
According to Reuters, Fingerprint shares jumped to a record high at 5.1 percent by 0724 GMT last Friday. Jörgen Lantto, President and Chief Executive Officer of FPC, mentioned during the conference that Fingerprint’s forecast of revenue exceeds $177 million in 2015. Moreover, he is convinced that the launch of Android M will contribute to the fingerprint sensors’ market growth in 2016, possibly even earlier.
“By incorporating fingerprint sensor technology in Android M, Google is taking a major step with a more secure and convenient way for user identity verification. This will spur further innovation by app developers, improve usability of Android devices and accelerate market growth for fingerprint sensors. We are very pleased to have supported Google in their effort to develop and integrate fingerprint sensor capability in Android M. We commend Google for its vision and drive in taking this innovative step in creating an even stronger Android ecosystem,” said Lantto.
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