Google has unveiled two features we should be expecting on the Pixel 4 ahead of its October launch. The two features are Motion Sense and face unlock – helping you to get things done without having to touch it.
The tech giant actually dropped a blog post to explain the new features.
Motion Sense
Google says that its Advanced Technology and Projects team (ATAP) has been working on Soli, a motion-sensing radar for the past five years. Radar, of course, is the same technology that has been used for decades to detect planes and other large objects. So it has developed a miniature version located at the top of Pixel 4 that senses small motions around the phone, combining unique software algorithms with the advanced hardware sensor, so it can recognize gestures and detect when you’re nearby.
Pixel 4 will be the first device with Soli, powering its new Motion Sense features to allow you to skip songs, snooze alarms, and silence phone calls, just by waving your hand. These capabilities are just the start, and just as Pixels get better over time, Motion Sense will evolve as well. Motion Sense will be available in select Pixel countries.
Face unlock
Unlocking your phone should be easy, fast, and secure. Your device should be able to recognize you—and only you—without any fuss. Face unlock may be a familiar feature for smartphones, but Google says it is engineering it differently.
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 had shown a picture of the Pixel 4 in a tweet in June this year. This is vintage Google, trying to get ahead of leaks that came out recently. So we know what it is going to look like externally but we do not know what is on the inside.
Well, since there seems to be some interest, here you go! Wait 'til you see what it can do. #Pixel4 pic.twitter.com/RnpTNZXEI1
— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) June 12, 2019
