The Pixel 6 & 6 Pro were supposed to offer facial recognition from the get-go
According to some new proof, Google seems to have been preparing this feature for both phones, but it didn’t manage to get it ready for launch. This information was spotted by Freak07, XDA Recognized Developer. He found evidence of Face Unlock support on the Pixel 6. It seems like Google introduced a code change to the Pixel 6’s PowerHAL config file on July 9. The description for that change suggests that Google called this feature “Tuscany”, and was working to improve its impact on the battery. It tried to do that by boosting the CPU cloisters for a more precise time window. Nobody is sure why Google dropped the feature in the end, but we can guess it’s because it wasn’t ready for prime time. The impact on battery life was likely still too big, or something of the sort.
This feature may arrive as part of a Pixel Feature Drop update
So, is there still hope this feature may make it to the two phones? Well, yes, there is. Google could introduce it as part of its Pixel Feature Drop updates down the line, we’ll see. That would sure be a nice addition to the two phones, as some people prefer Face Unlock over a fingerprint scanner. That may especially be the case on these two phones, as the in-display fingerprint scanner that Google used is not the best. By that, we mean it’s not exactly the fastest to unlock. Google used an optical fingerprint scanner, but thanks to Google’s added algorithms, it’s slower than the competition. Google does say that this makes it more secure, though, so… there you go. If Google does end up offering Face Unlock, it will work through the phone’s selfie camera. In other words, it won’t be as secure as Apple’s offering, which comes with at on of added hardware.
