The pattern unlock feature has been available to Android users since the beginning. But with the added security feature, one can only unlock directly to the Home screen, not into a favorite app. Today, a Google patent has surfaced that appears to allow unlocking directly to apps with a pattern.
The patent shows a functionality allowing for multiple user-created patterns which could be used to open certain apps. Each pattern could be tied to an app. For example, one pattern could unlock directly to the camera, another to Facebook.
There’s no indication when (if ever) Google will release this functionality. It’s not part of its latest Android, 4.3, but who knows, maybe we’ll see it in Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie?
The language of the patent is kind of impenetrable, but here’s the abstract:
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for receiving, by a computing system that is locked, input from a user that provides an unlocking pattern. During entry of the unlocking pattern, a display of the computing system does not provide a visual indication of an action that will be performed upon the user completing the unlocking pattern. The computing system compares the provided unlocking pattern to a plurality of stored unlocking patterns to determine whether the provided unlocking pattern matches any of the stored unlocking patterns. The stored unlocking patterns are associated with respective actions that are performed upon completion of the respective unlocking patterns. The unlocking patterns are associated with a same level of unlocked security access to the computing system. The computing system responds by unlocking the computing system and performing the action that is associated with the matching unlocking pattern.
With patents frequently flying through the patent office, there’s no telling if we’ll see Google’s unlock to app feature soon. Only time will tell. What do you thing of Google’s slide to app unlock patent?
[Via: US Patent Office, Engadget]