The Pixel 6 Pro was rumored to include Face Unlock at launch back in April, and we’ve since covered Google’s ongoing work on the feature. What the user will actually experience with Pixel Face Unlock is revealed by Android 13 QPR1.
Regarding APK Insight: We’ve decompiled the most recent version of an app that Google put on the Play Store in our “APK Insight” post. These files, known as APKs for Android apps, can be disassembled to reveal several lines of code that allude to potential future features. Remember that Google might or might not ever deploy these features, and our understanding of what they are might be limited. However, we’ll endeavor to make those that are nearly finished show you how they’ll appear if they do ship. Read on with that in mind.
Today’s release of Android 13 QPR1 Beta 1 includes various strings outlining what to anticipate. The first thing to note is that, according to Google, “Face Unlock works best when there is enough light and you’re not wearing a mask or dark glasses.”
Dark sunglasses are not recommended, however regular glasses are:
You may put on your glasses if you often wear them during setup.
It essentially verifies that Google’s most recent method is camera-based and does not call for any additional hardware by demanding light conditions. The Pixel 4 uses IR cameras, a dot projector, a flood illuminator, and Soli Motion Sense to speed up the process, whereas this is a significant improvement.
Instead, the front-facing camera on the Pixel 6 Pro supports dual-pixel auto-focus (DPAF) to create depth maps of your face, and Google praises Tensor for making face detection in photography contexts faster, more accurate, and power-efficient. However, while DPAF appears to be supported by both the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, the smaller Pixel 6 clearly has a front-facing camera that does not. These technologies appear to provide the hardware foundation for this new Face Unlock in a big way.
This accompanying animation, which replaces the one previously used for the Pixel 4, instructs you to “hold your phone at eye level” to begin the scanning procedure. In contrast to Apple Face ID allowing two , only one face is supported (intended for significant others).
Google cautions that Face Unlock is “less secure than a strong pattern, PIN, or password” in terms of accuracy. Additional warnings comprise:
When you don’t mean to, looking at the phone can unlock it. Even if your eyes are closed, holding your phone up to your face allows someone else to unlock it. Someone who resembles you, such as a sister who looks exactly like you, could unlock your phone. Face Unlock requires you to “take up your phone or tap the screen” in order to be used on a daily basis. When your phone changes from the always-on display (AOD) to the lockscreen, scanning apparently begins.
The Pixel 6 Pro running Android 13 QPR1 Beta 1 has the “Traffic Light” code, which is a new Face Unlock-related code. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6a don’t have any references like that.
While the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are anticipated in October, QPR1 will reach stable in December. The presence of the Face Unlock code in QPR1 may indicate that, after making its debut on flagship devices, it will really be made available for the Pixel 6 Pro. Face Unlock on the Pixel 6 Pro is increasingly plausible, but nothing is certain until it actually launches.
Thanks to JEB Decompiler , several APK Insight teardowns are made possible.
The author of this article is Dylan Roussel .
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