Pixel Pro smartphones: Difficulties surrounding the thermometer sensor – developers provide insights

Google has been using the Thermometer sensor in the Pixel Pro smartphones, which after a long time has finally been released for European users to measure body temperature. On this occasion, we would like to give you a brief insight into the challenges the engineers had to deal with during development and how the overall concept may be questioning itself.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is the first smartphone ever to receive approval for body temperature measurement in the USA and was able to activate this function with an update. It would take almost another year for this approval to be achieved for European users – but now it is finally here. For a few days now, the sensor can also be used to measure body temperature in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and many other countries. And this is not a temporary matter, because the articles in the Google blog and the early Pixel 9 leaks indicate that Google will probably stick with this sensor for a long time.

When the thermometer sensor first appeared in leaks almost two years ago, many observers thought it was a well-made joke, not least because of the type and duration of the measurement. Users cannot simply hold the sensor against their skin, but the measurement takes place at a small distance from the skin – in all examples, the forehead is used for this. The cover image above also comes from this news.

Now Google’s engineers have given interesting insights into the development and the problems that arose. In fact, measuring the exact distance of 1 to 1.5 cm is not that easy. Since users cannot see the device itself, a series of signals and haptic feedback have been developed to make this easier. But why did they use them in the first place?