It was introduced to have a method for also verifying subepidermal features, but the recent hack based on a simple silicone finger sleeve was not filtered out.
It is quite simple, The Sensor in A**le smartphone is just a High Definition scanner, hackers used High res scan of the finger and reproduced it, besides it may not have the Liveness detection facility. You can google it for details!!
No technology is perfect. A new security protection technique will only make it more difficult to hack a system. Consider how difficult it is for a bad guy to steal your fingerprint without your notice and create a high-quality gelatine finger, compared to stealing your password or PIN by a glimpse over your shoulder.