Google Pixel 4 will recognize gestures and detect when you’re nearby, face unlock also confirmed

Google’s upcoming Pixel 4 will be able to recognize hand gestures and detect when you’re nearby. Google has confirmed that Pixel 4 will be first commercially available device with Soli – its in-house motion sensing tech that uses a miniaturized radar capable of sensing small motions around device. 

Soli is brainchild of Google’s Advanced Techlogies and Projects (ATAP) research lab and has been in development for past five years. project began with ATAP embedding tiny radar chips into electronics such as smartwatches and smart speaker prototypes (and n controlling m through hand gestures without actual contact), but this is first time we’ll see it in a consumer product – meaning, tech is w ready for prime-time. 

Pixel 4 will have a wide array of sensors at top of screen (which explains thick forehead we’re seeing in leaked renders of phone) - including a new Soli chip that will bring Motion Sense features to phone, allowing you “to skip songs, soze alarms, and silence phone calls, just by waving your hand.” 

Phones that support hand gestures aren’t new. LG launched G8 ThinQ recently with something called Air Motion gestures but that was based on a Time of Flight (ToF) system. Google’s Soli is a lot more complex, and possibly even more useful. In a short teaser shared by Google, a user is seen skipping songs on her Pixel 4 so seamlessly, as if it were second nature. If at all Google can bring same level of polish to product it ships to end-users, it will surely be a big leap for smartphones – and a major go for Soli. 

Soli will also bring advanced face unlock to Pixel 4 (with a combination of dedicated face unlock hardware including a pair of IR cameras and flood illuminator). Google in fact says that Pixel 4 will be able to offer a face unlock experience that’s easier, faster, and more secure than rivals, such as iPhone XS’ Face ID – which has become gold standard to beat in industry. Google is touting two aspects that make its face unlock more convenient (and faster) - Google’s tech seemingly “won’t require you to lift device all way up, pose in a certain way, wait for it to unlock, and n swipe to get to homescreen,” and it will “work in almost any orientation - even if you're holding it upside down.” 

Google’s Pixel phone line-up is officially entering its fourth iteration – t counting one-off Pixel 3A/Pixel 3A XL here – this year. While it has remained undisputed camera champ since its inception, Pixel has also been marred with criticism. That Google’s hardware division has failed to invate eugh, even as rivals are charting new territories. Pixel 4 seems different, at least as far as new hardware is concerned.  

Google has already shared an official render of Pixel 4, confirming it will come with dual rear cameras – a first for any Google Pixel phone. Google has been able to pull off some too good to be true photography chops with one camera on its Pixel phones for years w, at a time when rival brands have started adopting more and more versatility – meaning more cameras. Also, rival brands have been raising megapixel bar as well, while Google has been content using 12MP resolution cameras. So far.   

While dual cameras are surely a big step-up, it would be interesting to see if Google also chooses to up megapixel count in its cameras this year. It would also be interesting to see what kind of lenses it has to offer in Pixel 4 – rmal and wide-angle, rmal and depth, or rmal and telephoto. Google isn’t revealing any key specs just yet, all it is saying is that you’ll have to wait to see what it can do.   

By looks of it, Google isn’t waiting until D-day to talk more about its next Pixel – which is expected to launch sometime in October. Hopefully, we will hear more about it in days to come.