After the news broke that Nexus 5X and 6P owners would not be receiving "Night Mode" and fingerprint gestures due to hardware limitations of the older Nexus devices, Google has now seemingly given a bit of hope by stating that they are now "evaluating" the possibility.
Google introduced a simple fingerprint scanner gesture on the Pixel and Pixel XL that allows users to "swipe" the scanner to access the notification shade, but as with the Pixel launcher, the company opted to leave those features as exclusives to the new handsets, adding that the firmware version of the scanner on last years phones wasn"t capable of implementing it.
But that response was met by frustration from users believing that a firmware update was seemingly possible. This subsequently caused a backlash in the community, so much so that Google responded to an enquiry by Android Police on the issue.
Google"s PR said they are "evaluating" a firmware update for the Nexus 5X and 6P to add support for the fingerprint scanner gesture of the Pixels, but the website emphasized that evaluation does not mean it will eventually happen.
Google had no more details to share, and gave no indication of a possible update for the older Nexus devices, but added to "stay tuned" for a possible announcement and decision on the matter.
Source: Android Police