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The Nexus 6 is Motorola’s first partnership with Google, despite being owned by the search giant for two years. Even though the phone reminds... Ex-Moto Chief Claims Nexus 6 Was Supposed To Feature Fingerprint Sensor

The Nexus 6 is Motorola’s first partnership with Google, despite being owned by the search giant for two years. Even though the phone reminds us of the Moto X (but larger), it had meagre results in the opening few months on sale.

nexus-6

Dennis Woodside, the ex-CEO of Motorola, claims the Nexus 6 was originally meant to feature a fingerprint sensor on the back of the device, a feature that could have turned a lot of heads.

Speaking in an interview with The Telegraph, Woodside claimed the team had been planning a fingerprint sensor for three years, but dropped the plans once Apple acquired the best-in-class AuthenTec for $356 million (£234 million).

The fingerprint sensor would have been housed on the rear indent, allowing users to push their finger into the indent to unlock the smartphone and pay for digital goods—similar to Touch ID.

Woodside claims as soon as AuthenTec went over to Apple, Motorola began searching for the second best supplier, but found the technology to be lacklustre against AuthenTec.

The acquisition of AuthenTec by Apple might have shaped the rather dismal fingerprint showing in 2014, with Samsung, HTC and LG all failing to provide an adequate fingerprint sensor.

Microsoft and BlackBerry—two mobile providers known for an emphasis on security—also failed to deliver any fingerprint sensor on new devices last year.

Woodside did claim the fingerprint sensor would have brought minimal returns on investment, claiming the Nexus 6 would have sold just as well with or without the feature.

The ex-CEO recently moved over to CEO of Dropbox, following the sale of Motorola to Lenovo. Woodside is working on making Dropbox the ultimate cloud storage provider, alongside handling the acquisitions and funding rounds for the private company.

[Images via Google]

SOURCE: The Telegraph