Google's fingerprint solution will allow users to both unlock their phone and replace passwords in supported applications, according to BuzzFeed News. Support could be announced as early as next week, when Google convenes its annual developers conference, though there is still no confirmation that "Android M" will be on the docket.
Android OEMs that already offer fingerprint sensors in their devices — such as Samsung and China's Huawei — have been forced to roll their own biometric authentication systems. Adding it to the Android core would ease the burden on smaller manufacturers, and could also help to drive adoption by allowing developers to quickly integrate with fingerprint sensors.
On iOS, developers quickly added Touch ID as an authentication option after Apple opened the system up to third parties. Some in the iOS development community have observed that apps which feature Touch ID support sell better than comparable offerings without it, suggesting that consumers have warmed to the functionality.
Earlier this year, former Motorola chief Dennis Woodside revealed that Google's Nexus 6 was originally designed with fingerprint authentication in mind, but the feature was scrapped after Apple bought sensor supplier AuthenTec.
"The secret behind that is that it was supposed to be fingerprint recognition, and Apple bought the best supplier," Woodside said, referring to a dimple on the handset's rear that now contains the Motorola logo. "So the second best supplier was the only one available to everyone else in the industry and they weren't there yet."