What you need to know
- New evidence points to face unlock support coming to the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
- The security feature could arrive as part of the Android 12L update or a Pixel feature drop.
- However, the smaller Pixel 6 might not get face unlock.
Google introduced the Pixel 6 series in October with only an in-display fingerprint sensor for security, skipping the much-anticipated face unlock system. However, according to a new rumor, the feature will still be available in a future update for the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
According to 9to5Google, a few strings in the source code of Android 12L's beta version indicate that the Pixel 6 Pro will get support for face unlock after all. This code is linked to settings that let you choose between face recognition and fingerprint scanning.
However, the regular Pixel 6 isn't likely to receive the feature. 9to5Google says the same code change wasn't found on a base Pixel 6 running Android 12L.
It would be a bit of a bummer if the face unlock capability will be exclusive to the Pro version and owners of the smaller model will have to make do only with the fingerprint scanner, which wasn't particularly impressive during the device's initial months.
Face unlock was dropped with the launch of the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G. However, prior to the Pixel 6's release, a leak claimed that the feature would return with Google's best Android phones. That obviously did not occur for some reason.
Another caveat found in the code is that the feature is labeled as "experimental," which could mean one of two things: face unlock may take some time to arrive on the Pixel 6 Pro, or it may never arrive at all.
At any rate, the smaller Pixel 6 is unlikely to receive the same treatment when the feature becomes available, if at all. According to rumors, face unlock support will be included in the Android 12L update or a future Pixel feature drop.
Google Pixel 6 Pro
Pixel Drop features are frequently restricted to the most recent Pixel generations. The Pixel 6 Pro is your best bet if you want the best software experience Google has to offer. It's an amazing phone with 12GB of RAM, a 6.7-inch 1440p LTPO OLED display, amazing cameras, and a solid battery life.
