Google Pixel 4 will sport motion sensing and an enhanced face unlock technology. These details have been unveiled by the company ahead of the device’s launch, which probably will be in the month of October if past releases are considered.

The past few years have seen a rise in the number of people who had started leaking smartphone details using factory images/vectors and renders. Last year saw the rise of prominent brands themselves giving up information before any leaker did — maybe to disrupt the market and create a new marketing channel too.

Motion Sense on Pixel 4

The upcoming Google Pixel 4 will be powered by Soli, a motion-sensing radar that has been developed by Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects team (ATAP) over the past five years. The device is fitted with a miniature version of radar that enables it to sense small motions around itself. Coupled with software algorithms, these sensors would be able to recognise gestures and detect the user. Motion sensors would allow users to skip songs, snooze alarms or silence a call simply by waving their hand. And Google believes that these capabilities will improve over time.

Motion sense feature will only be available in selected countries, which haven’t been disclosed yet.

Also read: Should you trust facial recognition technology? The ups and downs

Face Unlock

While face unlocking has been around for a while, Google says that the experience will be seamless in the new Pixel 4, powered by Soli.

“Other phones 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 home screen. Pixel 4 does all of that in a much more streamlined way. As you reach for Pixel 4, Soli proactively turns on the face unlock sensors, recognizing that you may want to unlock your phone,” said Brandon Barbello, Product Manager, Pixel, in a blog post.

If users are recognised by the face unlock algorithm and sensors, the Pixel 4 will open instantly as it’s picked — all in one go. Face unlock will also work in varying orientation, including upside down. App authentication and payments can also be processed using face unlock as the password.

Putting privacy concerns to rest, Google also mentions that the facial recognition technology used by Face Unlock feature is processed locally on the Pixel 4, which means that the image data doesn’t leave the device and is never saved or shared by Google services.

Pixel’s Titan M security chips will also reappear in the Pixel 4, which will also be used to store the images being used for facial recognition. Soli’s sensor data is also processed locally and is never shared or saved by Google services.

Also read: How to download offline Google Maps?