FPC Helped Google Develop Android M’s Fingerprint System

Fingerprint Cards (FPC) has helped Google to develop the fingerprint sensor capabilities of its new Android M operating system, the company has announced. FPC provided Google with prototype devices based on its FPC1020 and FPC1025 sensors.

The collaboration has helped to push up FPC’s shares by 5.1 percent, according to a Reuters report from Olof Swahnberg and David Holmes. And it’s no wonder; Android M is going to launch along with Android Pay, Google’s new mPayment platform, which will rely on the fingerprint biometrics technology of the OS. While the fingerprint sensor technology is an API open to all third-party developers, a number of smartphones already use FPC hardware for their sensors, and the company’s very public association with Google can only help to promote the company and its technology as the releases of Android M and Android Pay approach.

In a statement, FPC CEO Jörgen Lantto pointed to the “rapid deployment of Android devices incorporating touch fingerprint sensors enabled by FPC’s broad portfolio of touch fingerprint sensors,” but emphasized Google’s efforts to incorporate fingerprint sensor technology into its OS in general. “Google is taking a major step with a more secure and convenient way for user identity verification,” he said, adding that it “will spur further innovation by app developers, improve usability of Android devices and accelerate market growth for fingerprint sensors.”