Apple Acquisition of AuthenTec Meant No Nexus 6 Fingerprint Scanner

Back in 2012, Apple purchased biometrics company AuthenTec with the intention of including their fingerprint scanning technology in future iPhones and iPads. That technology became Apple’s Touch ID, first included with the iPhone 5s in 2013 and all iOS devices since. What we didn’t know, was that Motorola intended to incorporate this into their Nexus 6, but Apple’s acquisition left all but a tiny remnant of the company’s plans.

That remnant, according to former Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside, is the indentation that now holds the Motorola logo on the rear of the Nexus 6. Yes, that small dimple you see in the picture above.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Woodside says that Apple’s acquisition of AuthenTec meant no biometrics for the Nexus 6.

“Indeed, the 6-inch Nexus 6, he can now admit, was stymied by just one of those big players. A dimple on the back that helps users hold the device should, in fact, have been rather more sophisticated. “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,” says Woodside.”

At least we all know what the dimple was for now.

Source: The Telegraph Via: 9to5Mac