A standardized UI for
fingerprint
authentication
Your fingerprint is a powerful form of security — but the user interface for inputting your fingerprint
across Android has thus far been anything but clear or consistent.
"We saw a very, very large variety in what apps did for fingerprints," Xin laughs. "We saw one app that
basically showed a Comic Sans font when it was asking for a fingerprint."
So with P, Google is creating a consistent UI for fingerprint authentication — whether the prompt is
coming from the system itself or from an app. Aside from the obvious surface-level benefit of this
change, Xin says it could have some hidden perks for future technologies.
"If an OEM wanted to launch an in-display fingerprint sensor — say, in the bottom half of the screen —
you'd need a way for them to tell you to put your fingerprint in a specific place," she notes.
Don't get too excited about that possibility yet, though: Xin says while some Android device-makers
have absolutely been starting to consider the idea of in-display fingerprints, it's not yet clear if or when
any such system will actually launch on a device.
User-facing warnings
for outdated API use
When we talk about Android OS updates, the shiny marquee features tend to get the most attention.
Beneath the surface, though, new releases always contain important foundational improvements —
including sets of new APIs, or interfaces developers use to access data and tap into features within
their apps.
Newer APIs can provide more advanced possibilities as well as more effective privacy and security —
and so when an app doesn't take advantage of such opportunities and continues to target older APIs
instead, it can be bad news for you as the user.
"We tighten down the API year after year," Xin says. "A lower API level might not be as secure."
In Android P, Google is proactively working to keep developers using the latest tools available — and to
keep you aware of any instances when they might be failing to do so. How? Simple: The P-level
operating system will actually show a warning to you anytime an app is targeting older-than-
acceptable APIs.
refer :: www.computerworld.com
12