Google has found a new way to beat the rumors in the various online forums on its upcoming devices. The company itself comes forward to release a render and tell the market what is to be expected. It did it sometime earlier about the rear camera setup. This time the company has posted a blog along with a short video clip showing the new facial unlock capability of the Google Pixel 4 and the Google Pixel 4 XL smartphones to be launched this October.
The highlight of this new official revelation, though much of it had been discussed online for some time, is the Project Soli radar chip fitted on the front display of these smartphones. The blog post by Google contains an image of the top part of the phone that wears a large top panel by today’s standards. The panel has at least 8 different components. These include the two infrared cameras, the regular selfie camera, the face unlock dot projector and the flood illuminator, besides the Soli radar chip. Of course, the proximity sensor and the audio port are also included.
The video that runs for under half a minute demonstrates the face unlock function the Google Pixel 4 phones will come with. It shows how as your hand is about the reach for the phone the Soli radar chip detects it and sends signal to the face unlock system. It starts with the illuminator flooding light on your face and the infrared camera picking up the image and the phone is unlocked. There is no lag or delay. You might notice that the unlock process is complete and you can start using the phone. This is marginally different from the one you have in the iPhones where after the face unlock you have to use your fingers to swipe and access the Home screen.
“Other phones require you to lift the device all the way up, pose in a certain way, wait for it to unlock, and then swipe to get to the homescreen. Pixel 4 does all of that in a much more streamlined way. As you reach for Pixel 4, Soli proactively turns on the face unlock sensors, recognizing that you may want to unlock your phone. If the face unlock sensors and algorithms recognize you, the phone will open as you pick it up, all in one motion. Better yet, face unlock works in almost any orientation—even if you're holding it upside down—and you can use it for secure payments and app authentication too,” Google says in the blogpost.
The Soli radar chip can be used for other functions too like changing music tracks etc. by the wave of the hand.
The other feature Google has shared in its blogpost is that the facial data will be stored in Google’s Titan M chip which offers full security.