The Pixel 8 Pro temperature sensor only matters if Google commits

For higher or worse, including an IR temperature sensor to the Pixel 8 Pro is Google-y. The firm has a historical past of weird {hardware} additions.

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There was Active Edge on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 for squeezing to launch Assistant, whereas the latter telephones provided a second front-facing digicam with 97-degree FOV for wide-angle photographs. (Again, I’m nonetheless so shocked this dual-camera setup was not used for facial recognition.)

Google’s willingness for its telephones to have one thing distinctive peaked with the Pixel 4 and Soli radar for air gestures that might finish alarms and management music, in addition to for rushing up Face Unlock. Reportedly, gross sales for that yr weren’t superb, and consequently, none of these options made it to the following technology.

The Pixel 6 noticed a brand new design language that presumably was all the time coming side-by-side with Google Tensor, whereas the Pixel 7 was a transparent refinement yr. Basically, because the Pixel 5, Google hasn’t tried something out of the unusual with {hardware}.

The temperature sensor on the Pixel 8 Pro might break that streak. To Google’s credit score with the Pixel 2 and three, these {hardware} additions didn’t closely impression the cellphone’s design. Both generations regarded largely according to their contemporaries, however the Pixel 4 didn’t, with its giant higher notch to suit the radar array.

The Pixel 8 Pro doesn’t look drastically completely different from what got here earlier than, an indication that there aren’t any downsides to usability with this sensor’s addition. If that continues to be true in utilization, it turns into purely additive.

It’s too early to foretell utilization of that individual characteristic (although I’ve my ideas), however my major concern right here is Google’s dedication. Since the Pixel 4 scenario, Google has been targeted on the core cellphone expertise.

With the Pixel 8 Pro, it seems like Google is experimenting once more with {hardware}. I applaud that. It’s enjoyable and thrilling to see one thing completely different for the slab smartphone type issue exterior of digicam innovation (which Google is all the time pursuing).

However, experimentation must be accomplished since you assume the top outcome provides authentic worth or helpfulness, not as a result of it’s merely cool or attainable, with the market justification coming later.

In the case of the temperature sensor, hopefully, the concept behind it’s that Google needs to make well being a serious tentpole of its telephones alongside Pixel Call Assist, Pixel Speech, Pixel Safe, and Pixel Camera as Rick Osterloh summarized at I/O 2023.

If Google needs to make well being a key side of Pixel telephones, I’m all for it. It is smart with Fitbit (although I feel wearables and the wrists are a greater place for that).

However, I need the Pixel crew to decide to it. That might contain placing the sensor on subsequent yr’s cellphone (and even bringing it to the smaller mannequin) or discovering one other technique to report temperature if bringing one thing as much as your temple doesn’t stick.

What I don’t need to occur is for Google to drop the temperature sensor from the Pixel 9 and by no means talk about well being once more. In that situation, Google would have discovered nothing from the Pixel 4 and could be betraying the sense of maturity that the Pixel 6 and seven delivered to its telephones. You can add differentiating {hardware} to telephones if you genuinely consider it’s of worth. If that fails, you retain attempting.

However, if you take away it after one yr, then that differentiating {hardware} was only a pet undertaking and indicative of a scattershot, “see what sticks” strategy to product improvement in your most essential product.

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