This Simple Tweak Improves Android 16’s Fingerprint Reader
Summary
- Android 16 beta introduces a new ‘check enrolled fingerprints’ feature for easier fingerprint identification.
- The new tool simplifies fingerprint management for users with multiple registered prints.
- Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 includes various small but handy improvements for a more user-friendly experience.
In-screen fingerprint scanners have been a source of frustration for years. Thankfully, the latest Android 16 beta has a small but handy feature that looks set to improve how we manage the enrolled fingerprints on our Android devices .
Related
A new feature buried in Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 makes it easier to match saved fingerprints with the one you’re actually using (via Android Authority). Once enabled, you can simply touch the fingerprint scanner and your phone will highlight which print you used. You no longer need to delete and re-enroll each finger just to figure out which one is which.
A small change with big benefits
This ‘check enrolled fingerprints‘ option is a timesaver for anyone who has registered multiple fingerprints on their phone, only to later struggle to tell them apart. Android kept fingerprint management unchanged for years, and most people simply got used to living within its constraints. If you didn’t label each fingerprint when you set them up, you’d be stuck guessing.
This new tool is so simple, it’s amazing nobody thought of it until now. When tapping the ‘New‘ option in the Fingerprint Unlock settings, you’re taken to a minimalist screen prompting you to touch the sensor. If your print matches a fingerprint already enrolled on the device, it gets highlighted in the list. Easy. This is especially useful for devices with multiple users.
It’s part of Android 16’s first quarterly platform release beta and comes along with a wider redesign of the fingerprint settings page. Google wants to align Android’s look and feel with its Material 3 Expressive design language, and this cleaner, more intuitive UI is part of it.
More small improvements in Android 16 QPR1
There’s a lot more to Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 than a simple tweak to the fingerprint scanner. Google also added a Magic Portrait generator for lock screen wallpapers, improved the recents menu, and now lets you adjust the lock screen clock’s size with a slider. None of these are mind-blowing, but each one goes toward making Android more user-friendly.
Android 16’s stable will hit later this year. These quality-of-life upgrades may stack up to make it a surprisingly refined release when it does roll out.
