Quick answer:No, the Google Pixel 8 does not include an infrared temperature sensor.
TheGoogle Pixel 8is the tech giant’s latest foray intomodern mobile tech. It boasts a revamped processor, an improved camera system, and some impressive AI capabilities, among other new features. But one head-turning new capability that you’ll find on the flagshipGoogle Pixel 8 Prois actuallynotavailable on the lesser of the two models. We’re talking, of course, about the temperature sensor.
Does the Google Pixel 8 have a temperature sensor?
The Google Pixel 8doesnothave a built-in temperature sensor. However, the Google Pixel 8 Pro does include an infrared temp sensor, and it’s located on the back of the phone, right next to the rear-facing camera.
What can you use the temperature sensor for anyway?
In Google’s press release for the Pixel 8 Pro, the company claims you can use the temperature-detect feature to scan an object and figure out what temperature it is. This sounds like a feature that Google will be improving and expanding upon through firmware updates, but the company shed some light on what the sensor can do from the get-go.
Google says the sensor allows you to do things like scan a pan to see if it’s heated enough to begin cooking with or scan milk in a baby’s bottle to make sure it’s the correct drinking temp. And pending a go-ahead from the FDA, perhaps the most impressive capability will be the sensor’s collaboration with Google’s Thermometer App, which will allow you to take your own temperature and have the reading logged to your Fitbit.
Awaiting FDA clearance could take a long time, and if Google doesn’t end up getting the green light from the powers that be, the Pixel 8 Pro’s temperature scanner may end up being a part of a flagship phone that folks don’t use very often.
But those of us with the standard Pixel 8 won’t have to worry about the future of the temperature sensor at all because the lesser of the two Pixel 8 devices wasn’t built to house this tech like its more expensive sibling.
What other phones have built-in temperature sensors?
Smartphones have actually featured temperature sensors for quite some time, but the idea of these readers being used for object-based scanning is a bit more cutting-edge. Normally, our phone’s temp sensors are internal device-monitoring tech. If a phone’s battery or chipset starts getting toasty, these onboard sensors are designed to raise a red flag.
As for external temperature scanners, Huawei made headlines a few years back by introducing an infrared sensor on its Honor Play 4 smartphone. And for those of us into wearables, Samsung added an infrared sensor to itsGalaxy Watch 5devices, a feature that has carried over to theGalaxy Watch 6series.
What features does the Google Pixel 8 have?
Regardless of the fact that the Google Pixel 8 doesn’t have a temperature sensor, it’s still an excellent entry to the world of modern smartphones. Google’s new base model boasts a gorgeous 6.2-inch OLED screen, a high-performance processor, and an incredible set of cameras. Plus, it’s less expensive than most of its competition.
Google Pixel 8
While not as powerful as the Pixel 8 Pro, Google’s standard Pixel 8 is still an excellent Android-powered smartphone with plenty of tech and several years of software support.
If you don’t mind spending a little more, beyond its temperature-sensing capabilities, the $1,000 Pixel 8 Pro also runs on Google’s latest Tensor G3 chipset and includes seven years of software and Android OS updates. This flagship Android smartphone features improved cameras and access to Pro Controls, allowing you to adjust settings like shutter speed and ISO. Plus, it includes a telephoto lens.
Google Pixel 8 Pro
The Google Pixel 8 Pro is one of the best flagship smartphones we’ve ever tested. Not to mention, it also includes an infrared temperature sensor that could potentially be a game-changer in the world of healthcare.
