Face Unlock in low light is unreliable on Pixel phones
The original article featured one of our usual polls, asking you guys, "What's your personal experience with unlocking your Pixel phone with Face Unlock in low-light conditions?" The results are quite surprising.
Even though only 15% voted that Face Unlock doesn't work at all in low light on Pixel phones, the majority of the votes went to the second option, claiming the feature is "quite unreliable in low light."
More than 50% of all the votes went that way, and the total tally of people who are not happy with Face Unlock on their Pixel devices piled up to 66%, or two-thirds of all the votes. Meanwhile, 33% voted "I'm happy with Face Unlock on my Pixel," so there's clearly room for improvement for Google.
What's your personal experience with unlocking your Pixel phone with Face Unlock in low-light conditions?
438 Votes
What's the problem with Face Unlock on Pixel phones?
Face ID remains the benchmark when it comes to facial recognition. | Image by PhoneArena
Well, the Face Unlock feature on most Pixel phones, barring the Pixel 4, relies solely on the front-facing camera. There's no advanced radar tech or infrared light to bounce off your face and create a 3D map, as is the case with Apple's Face ID implementation.
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Speaking of Apple's Face ID, it works so well in low light precisely because it uses "invisible" infrared light that's emitted from an IR flood illuminator in the phone itself. The system relies on these invisible rays to get your facial topography, rather than on external light sources.
Google apparently knows the weak spot in its Pixel phones of late, but rather than packing an IR camera into the latest Pixel 10 lineup (there were some rumors pointing toward such a project called Toscana), the company has allegedly opted for a much lower-tech solution.
Pixel phones will shine light on your face in the dark
The upcoming feature will shine light on your face in low light conditions. | Images by Android Authority
The feature that's coming to Pixel phones is called "Brighten the screen in low light," and it is designed to help with biometrics in darker environments. As the name suggests, when the ambient light is below a certain level (I assume the feature will use the ambient light sensor from screen auto-brightness), the Pixel device will brighten the screen in Face Unlock scenarios.
Whether or not the extra illumination will be sufficient to improve Face Unlock accuracy is not clear at the moment. Google is working on various settings for this upcoming feature, including one that should work in complete darkness (without flashbanging your eyes), so we have to wait and see.
Is unreliable Face Unlock in low light a big deal?
Face Unlock is a great quality-of-life feature. | Image by Google
That depends on your specific use case, but I would say, in most scenarios, yes, it is a big deal — especially for people who are used to facial recognition for unlocking their Pixel. One of my main gripes when switching phones is how the Face Unlock feature is implemented.
I grew used to Face Unlock on my Honor Magic 6 Pro, and when I switched to my current daily driver, the RedMagic 10 Pro, I was massively disappointed. I have to use the under-display fingerprint sensor, which means I have to guess where it is every time, and once in a while, it fails. Very annoying.
What about you? What's your primary way of unlocking your phone, and do you think Face Unlock is a must-have feature on every smartphone? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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