Google is switching up it’s marketing for the upcoming Pixel 4. Instead of trying to keep things under wraps, the company is simply confirming certain suspicions about the next round of Pixel phones. They kicked things off by literally tweeting out a photo of one of the phones. Now, in a blog post, Google has confirmed the new devices will ship with face unlock.
It’s been rumored for some time that the Pixel 4 would adopt some sort of iPhone X-esque Face ID competitor, and we now know that’s true. According to Google, the Pixel 4 will come with an array of sensors for a much more secure face unlock system. There will be an IR camera, a front-facing standard selfie camera, an ambient light sensor, a dot projector, a second IR camera, and a flood illuminator.
If you know anything about the specs of Face ID, you know that this array of features is very similar to what Apple includes on its iPhones and iPads. This allows for a much more secure method of authentication, as opposed to just using a standard front-facing camera to take a picture of your face and compare it to a stored value every time you unlock your phone. It isn’t clear yet if Google’s solution will work as well as Apple’s, but let’s just hope it does.
In the same blog post, Google also confirmed it will implement a Soli radar chip in the Pixel 4. This will enable new motion-enabled gestures as a part of the company’s new Motion Sense feature. The blog post indicates gestures such as skipping songs and silencing alarms and phone calls will be possible just by waving your hand in front of your phone.
This is technology that’s been around for decades. After all, it’s just a radar, the same type of radar that’s used to detect large objects. Google says this is a smaller version of that which can be used to track your hand. The last time a phone granted me air gestures, I called them a gimmick. I really hope the same doesn’t reign true for the Pixel 4.
We’re about two-and-a-half months away from seeing the Pixel 4 at Google’s launch event. Be sure to stay tuned until then as I’m sure Google isn’t gonna stop leaking its own phone anytime soon.
