Can you use Face Unlock without Fingerprint Unlock on Pixel 7?

What can you do with face unlock on the Pixel 7?

Face unlock is a nifty feature that Google has been experimenting with since the Galaxy Nexus debuted back in 2011, but few Google phones have taken face unlock "seriously" over that time. The Pixel 7 is the first Pixel phone since the Pixel 4 to feature face unlock, but it does things much more like a Galaxy Nexus rather than a Pixel 4.

That's because the Pixel 7 doesn't have any sort of special hardware to ensure the face is sees is truly your face. That, compared with the Pixel 4, which had a bevy of sensors up front to detect the shape and other attributes of your face. Instead, the Pixel 7 simply relies on a single front-facing camera to get the job done.

Google says its machine learning techniques do a better job than other single-camera face unlocking methods, but even with this said, face unlock on the Pixel 7 isn't secure enough to be used for things like mobile payments. That's because if someone really wants to fool the camera, they certainly can.

So what's the point of face unlock if it's not actually a secure method of biometrically locking your phone? As Google said in an official statement, "convenience."

Unlocking your phone by just looking at it and swiping up on the lock screen is certainly convenient, although some might wonder if it's really more convenient than just placing a thumb on the fingerprint reader on the front of the phone.

Either way, face unlock could be a nice alternative to tapping the fingerprint scanner every time you just want to unlock your phone, especially since you'll actually need to input a PIN, password, or fingerprint when making mobile payments. Speaking of mobile payments, be sure to check out these great Pixel 7 deals if you want a Pixel 7 to appear in your future.