The latest reports suggest that Pixel 11 might add a face unlock system that works even in the dark. The previous models of Pixel phones like the Pixel 7 lineup featured face unlocking but lacked the high-quality development in those fields. The Face unlock system on smartphones is not a new thing, but many doubt its security and people rely mostly on fingerprint unlocking. Apple brought high-quality face unlock systems like Apple’s Face ID which gained great popularity in recent times.
The rumors about the upcoming Pixel 11 arose from a leak from Google’s chips division. The leak suggests that Google might be adding an under-display infrared (IR) camera on the Pixel 11 addressing the existing issue of the face authentication system which relies on regular color cameras. Face authentication with color cameras is useful but lacks the security and usability of it, especially in the dark.
The face recognition feature available on the Pixel 7 lineup does not work properly in dim light conditions and the upcoming Pixel 11 is rumored to have a Tensor G6 chip and an IR camera that can eradicate this issue.
The Tensor G6 chip is said to contain a new ‘lite’ front end, which is one of the main parts of an ISP. This is designed to reduce power consumption. The Google Tensor G6 chip’s image processor will be powering the under-display IR camera technology. This Tensor G6 chip is said to be supporting the under-display Face ID technology that Apple is planning to launch in 2026. Apple’s technology could be outshined if the rumors on Pixel 11 are right.
The face unlocking system returned to Pixel phones with the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro after Google discontinued the feature from the Pixel 5 model. The company first introduced this feature on the Pixel 4 device in 2019 and later compromised this for other features.
The new reports suggest that Google is bringing back the infrared camera used for face unlocking to the upcoming Pixel 11. Pixel 4 had a combination of sensors for face recognition including infrared (IR), depth, and RGB. These sensors made face recognition possible even in darker lighting. The face unlock system could be used to open apps and confirm payments other than unlocking the device.
The bazel of Pixel 4 had a face unlock dot projector, flood illuminator, and two IR cameras that could recognize the user in every possible lighting. It also had a front-facing camera, ambient light or proximity sensor, a soli radar chip, and an audio port at the bazel panel. As new models of phones have wider screens and thinner bazel, there is only room for a dot-sized front camera and maybe a speaker. The removal of IR cameras reduced the feature of using them in darker conditions and for fast and secure authentication.
The Pixel 8 upgraded the camera-based approach of the Pixel 7 to Class 3 allowing it to have money transactions and app sign-ins. The front cameras of Pixel support dual-pixel autofocus (DPAF), which generates a depth map and works under a machine-learning algorithm powered by Tensor. The fingerprint sensors are mostly used as the face recognition won’t work in dark lighting even though Pixel has a pretty good technology but it is not ahead of the time.
Pixel 11 might have an array of Artificial Intelligence features for editing and drawing. It is likely to improve the Night Sight feature that works on the device. Hardware improvements on the camera and enabling 100x zoom capacity on telephoto powered by AI are some of the other suggested features of the Pixel 11, but cannot be confirmed until its official launch, probably in 2026.
