Google Announces Pixel 4 Will Have Soli Motion-Sensing Radar and Face Unlock [Video]

Google today revealed two of the biggest new features coming to its upcoming Pixel 4 smartphone.

The first is Soli, a motion-sensing radar, that is located at the top of Pixel 4. It senses small motions around the phone so it can recognize gestures and detect when you're nearby.

Pixel 4 will be the first device with Soli, powering our new Motion Sense features to allow you to skip songs, snooze alarms, and silence phone calls, just by waving your hand. These capabilities are just the start, and just as Pixels get better over time, Motion Sense will evolve as well. Motion Sense will be available in select Pixel countries.





The second announced feature is Face Unlock.

Other phones require you to lift the device all the way up, pose in a certain way, wait for it to unlock, and then swipe to get to the homescreen. Pixel 4 does all of that in a much more streamlined way. As you reach for Pixel 4, Soli proactively turns on the face unlock sensors, recognizing that you may want to unlock your phone. If the face unlock sensors and algorithms recognize you, the phone will open as you pick it up, all in one motion. Better yet, face unlock works in almost any orientation—even if you're holding it upside down—and you can use it for secure payments and app authentication too.

Google says Face Unlocks are processed on your device. Your image data never leaves your phone.


The images used for face unlock are never saved or shared with other Google services. To protect your privacy and security, your face data is securely stored in Pixel's Titan M security chip. Similarly, Soli sensor data is also processed on your phone, and it’s never saved or shared with other Google services.

Google is expected to launch the new Pixel 4 in October. Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for more updates.