{"id":481191,"date":"2026-02-17T18:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T18:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/481191\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T18:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T18:08:09","slug":"google-pixel-reportedly-prepares-iphone-like-face-unlock-upgrade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/481191\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Pixel reportedly prepares iPhone-like face unlock upgrade"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Biometrics are a core part of any smartphone nowadays, and Google Pixel is one of the few brands that balances both fingerprint and face unlock properly<\/a>. But it seems Google wants to take things a step further on Pixel, with a new \u201cProject Toscana\u201d in the works that includes new face unlock hardware for phones and even Chromebooks, which is said to be comparable to iPhone\u2019s Face ID in performance.<\/p>\n

While Android phones today largely focus on fingerprint as the primary source of biometric authentication, it\u2019s abundantly clear that Google has an allure for face unlock. The Google Pixel 4<\/a> went all-in on face unlock with a full array of IR hardware that very much looked to compete with the iPhone\u2019s Face ID setup, but that was quickly thrown out in subsequent generations, likely in part due to the very bad timing of Google\u2019s attempt launching just months before COVID-19 made mask-wearing commonplace. <\/p>\n

Google has slowly built out face unlock again on Pixels in recent years, with the Pixel 7 series adding face unlock <\/a>based on the camera, but without the ability to work with secure apps. Google figured that out a year later on the Pixel 8 series<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, it seems Google is preparing a hardware-based upgrade.<\/p>\n

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Android Authority reports<\/a> that Google is building out \u201cProject Toscana\u201d behind the scenes as a hardware upgrade to face unlock on Google Pixel smartphones as well as Chromebooks. The new upgrade, the report claims, is still using a \u201csingle hole-punch camera cutout\u201d on Pixel and \u201cworked just as quickly as Face ID on the iPhone\u201d in \u201cvarious lighting conditions\u201d with a mention that it may be using IR. The report claims that this project aims to build face unlock that works \u201cany lightning condition without any extra visible hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were previous rumors that Pixel 11<\/a> would add face unlock that works in darker conditions using Tensor G6\u2019s supposed support for an \u201cunder-display IR (infrared) camera system.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it stands, there are still a lot of questions around how this might work, but it certainly sounds promising. The mention that it works \u201cas quickly\u201d as iPhone\u2019s Face ID isn\u2019t so much of a big fix, as Google Pixel\u2019s existing face unlock is already pretty quick, but the hint that this would work in \u201cvarious\u201d lighting conditions is exciting, given that the existing implementation is worthless in anything but ideal lighting.<\/p>\n

More on Google Pixel:<\/p>\n

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