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 the Pixel 4 will be the first commercially available device with Soli – its in-house motion sensing tech that uses a miniaturized radar capable of sensing small motions around the device. 

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

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

Phones that support hand gestures aren’t new. LG launched the 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 the same level of polish to the 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 the Pixel 4 (with a combination of dedicated face unlock hardware including a pair of IR cameras and flood illuminator). Google in fact says that the Pixel 4 will be able to offer a face unlock experience that’s easier, faster, and more secure than rivals, such as the iPhone XS’ Face ID – which has become the gold standard to beat in the 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 the device all the way up, pose in a certain way, wait for it to unlock, and then swipe to get to the 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 – not counting the one-off Pixel 3A/Pixel 3A XL here – this year. While it has remained the undisputed camera champ since its inception, the Pixel has also been marred with criticism. That Google’s hardware division has failed to innovate enough, even as rivals are charting new territories. The Pixel 4 seems different, at least as far as new hardware is concerned.  

Google has already shared an official render of the 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 now, at a time when rival brands have started adopting more and more versatility – meaning more cameras. Also, rival brands have been raising the 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 the megapixel count in its cameras this year. It would also be interesting to see what kind of lenses it has to offer in the Pixel 4 – normal and wide-angle, normal and depth, or normal 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 the 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 the days to come.