At this point, we all know that Google is horrible at keeping it’s hardware a secret. The Pixel fold was almost fully leaked, as well as the Pixel Watch. This has lead them to leak their own products months before an actual event, such as the Pixel 7 peek at last years Google IO. However, this year at IO, we got the Pixel 7A, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet, but not a sign of the Pixel 8.
But it didn’t take long for a leak to show up.
Android Police has shown us what could be a leaked internal video from Google itself demonstrating a new core temperature sensor. The phone matches early renders, with all the cameras now covered in the same glass oval and a flat display. In this demo, the person using the phone holds the device incredibly close to their forehead and moves it across their forehead in order to get a core temperature reading, being the use for the sensor under the flash. It also seems like anything that may obstruct your forehead (glasses, headbands, etc.)
While we haven’t seen these weird functionalities since the Pixel 4 (that brought radar), they have been working on AI and Tensor.
My take
While this seems like a very useful feature, I question it’s accuracy. This will obviously not be replacing a fully featured thermometer, how close will it be? While it has some potential in the future, I don’t see it being viable for a while.