There is still some hope for Face unlock on the Pixel 6 series

There is still some possibility that Face Unlock will arrive on Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro in the future. Several concrete traces have been available in the code of the latest Beta available for the two devices, which allows you to test the next Feature Drop whose release in the stable version will take place in June 2022. The traces, found in the screenshot below, have emerged in the PowerHAL configuration file.

The author of the discovery, whose alias on XDA-Developers is Freak07 and is quite a well-known character on the custom ROM and custom kernel scene, notes that Google doesn’t usually send these kinds of code changes in public test builds.

According to rumors that began to circulate well before the release of the latest Google flagships, the Pixel 6 (in some cases only the 6 Pro was thought) should offer face unlock, an additional biometric authentication option to add to the fingerprint scanner built into the display. Unlike what Apple does with its Face ID, there shouldn’t have been dedicated hardware, but a particularly performing and precise latest generation algorithm.

There is still some hope for Face unlock on the Pixel 6 series

The feature has the codename “Tuscany”; and although it was more or less ready Google would not be able to solve the high battery drain problems it entailed. Face Unlock would be canceled at the last moment. Already at the end of last year it was understood that Google had not completely abandoned the idea. The most common hypothesis at the moment, however, is that it will be exclusive to the Pixel 6 Pro.

Network sources report that Google will announce the Pixel 6a smartphone at a conference that will take place May 11-12. However, the device will go on sale only at the end of July; due to the continuing shortage of electronic components.

According to rumors, the Pixel 6a will be based on the Tensor GS101 processor; which is already in use in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro models. The smartphone will receive an 8-megapixel selfie camera with an IMX355 sensor; as well as a dual rear camera that combines a 12.2-megapixel IMX363 sensor; and a 12-megapixel unit with an IMX386 sensor and wide-angle optics.

The Google I/O conference may also reveal information about the Pixel Watch smartwatch. However, the official presentation of this gadget will take place only in October. At the same time, Google’s next-generation smartphones will debut – the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro devices.

According to preliminary data, the devices of the Pixel 7 family will be based on the proprietary Tensor platform of the second generation – the GS201 chip. We also know that the Samsung Exynos 5300 cellular modem will be part of the equipment of these smartphones. Earlier, renders of upcoming Pixel devices were available on the Internet.