The Face Unlock functionality might yet be added to the Pixel 6 Pro in a future update.
We’re already six months into the life of the Pixel 6, and we’re probably just as close to the release of the Pixel 7 as well. Even though it’s a bit late for new features, 9to5Google reports that a function that was planned to be included in the Pixel 6 Pro at launch might yet be added to the device in the months to come.
The Pixel 6 Pro was generally expected to have Face Unlock, which appeared in leaked marketing materials before to the phone’s release. That the Tensor processor in Pixel phones has the ability to do rapid and accurate facial identification is a curious omission from Google’s list of benefits.
The Pixel 6 Pro was supposed to include face unlocking at launch, according to Google’s sources, but the company changed its mind and decided against it at the last minute, presumably because it wasn’t working quite the way it should have. A second unreliable authentication mechanism may have harmed the Pixel 6’s evaluations, thus it was probably a good decision to ditch fingerprint unlocking.
It’s possible that Google hasn’t yet decided to implement the functionality, according to one of the insiders. Given that we haven’t heard a peep in four months, this is a fantastic thing to have verified.
However, it is said that feature will only be available on the Pixel 6 Pro, leaving the standard Pixel 6 out of the picture. Not sure whether this is due to variations in hardware (the Pro has an 11.1MP front-facing camera, while the ordinary Pixel 6 has an 8MP number) or if it’s simply an attempt to make the costlier hardware seem more exclusive. It’s not obvious. Aside from IR cameras, dot projectors and Soli (which was launched with the Pixel 4 before being abandoned in phones), neither has extra specialised hardware (though it resurfaced for the latest Nest Hub for sleep tracking).
No matter how soon the feature is rolled out, it does seem like Google will be adopting Face Unlocking for its future Pixel phones.
According to rumour, the next Pixel 7 is expected to have the same camera configuration as the current version, but it will have a faster Tensor processor and a little smaller screen. Our Google Pixel 7 hub has all you need to know about the new device.