Android Lollipop 5.0 is clever enough to keep your phone unlocked while you’re carrying it

If you’re rocking an iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, or a Samsung Galaxy S6 (before its official release date, no less) then congratulations – you’re treating your fingertips to the finest smartphone scanning security around.

If, however, your trusty smartphone lacks those fingerprint scanning skills, then there are a number of options available in Android 5.0 Lollipop to help reduce the hassle of bashing out a pin code every time your screen is unlocked.

Since its launch, Lollipop’s Trusted Places, Devices and Face features let your smartphone remain unlocked if it’s connected to a trusted Wi-Fi network/Bluetooth device, or if it recognises your face, and now a new feature called On-body detection now throws another trick into the mix.

It works by keeping your device unlocked for as long as it’s being carried on you. It uses the accelerometer to detect when it’s in your pocket or being carried in your hand, but will re-lock itself if it is, for example, left on a table while you’re off getting in the next round.

Obviously it’s not clever enough to detect who’s holding it, so if you hand your phone over to someone after you’ve unlocked it, it’ll remain at their mercy until it’s left alone and re-locks itself.

We’ve yet to test the feature out ourselves, but it sounds like a welcome addition to Android owners who don’t have access to finger-scanning hardware.

[Techcrunch]