Android 16 to come with a significant security upgrade for Pixel phones

There’s a change coming to how the fingerprint sensor on Pixel phones behaves with Android 16. And as it could make Pixel owners’ lives easier, it’s a welcome change.

Google is currently pushing Android 16 through its beta stages, with plans to release the software in early June. And Pixel phones will be the first to get it, as well as the new feature.

Android Authority has found that the latest beta changes how the fingerprint sensor is managed on Pixel devices. Under-display scanners have been used on Pixels since the Pixel 6, but so far you've only been able to use the sensor when the screen is active.

That normally means you have to wake the display, at which point the fingerprint logo appears and you can press it to scan your finger and unlock the phone. That’s unlike many rival brands where you can just touch the right area with the screen off and the phone will unlock.

But, that’s the change that Google appears to be making for Pixel – the beta version of Android 16 adds a setting that allows you to unlock the phone with the screen off, so it then seamlessly unlocks. There are supporting settings that you’ll find in the security and privacy area, too.

This feature works on phones all the way back to Pixel 6 and while the Android 16 beta isn’t final software – and this function could be removed – it’s hard to see why Google would remove something that make use more convenient.

What else can we expect from Android 16?

There will be new high-end camera tools in Android 16 as well, with support for professional video codecs and an API that will let third-party apps know when night mode is needed – with an on-screen icon to show that.

There’s going to be more work on making apps work better on large displays, to support new folding phones and tablets. There’s going to be more Gemini Extensions to help the new Google AI integrate with other parts of the phone, while there’s going to be a new type of notification designed to provide live updates.

We’re sure there will be additional new features too, but it might be that we don’t get to see some of the headlines until Google I/O in May. Pixel users will be the first to get the new software, with Android 16 launching many months earlier than Android 15 did.