Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. Guides

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Everything you can do with the Google Pixel 8 Pro’s temperature sensor

By
Someone holding a blue Pixel 8 Pro.
Joe Maring / Digital Trends

Google’s Made by Google event has come and gone, giving us a new lineup of Pixel devices — including the Google Pixel 8, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and Google Pixel Watch 2.

There’s a lot to love about the Google Pixel 8 Pro, especially. It features a new Super Actua display with up to 2,400 nits peak brightness, making it one of the brightest displays on a smartphone yet. You also get the new Tensor G3 chip, a 50MP main camera with 48MP ultrawide and 48MP telephoto cameras, and pro controls for the camera app.

Recommended Videos

But the Pixel 8 Pro also has a unique feature hidden underneath the matte back glass: an object temperature sensor. But what can you actually do with this unique little sensor? As it turns out, not much!

What you can do with the Pixel 8 Pro temperature sensor

Someone holding a black Google Pixel 8 Pro.
Google

Right now, the main thing that the temperature sensor on the Google Pixel 8 Pro can do is measure the temperature of various objects. Yes, this seems rather gimmicky, but it wouldn’t be the first time that Google has put an expensive gimmick in one of its devices — remember the Soli radar system in the Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL?

Anyway, what does it really mean that you can measure the temperature of various objects with the Google Pixel 8 Pro temperature sensor? For example, you could try to measure the temperature of the pan you’re trying to cook with. Or maybe you’re curious how much heat your laptop is putting out when you’re trying to play Starfield. Or you just want to see how hot the iPhone 15 Pro is when it feels like it’s “overheating.”

Of course, the main thing you’d want to take a temperature of is probably yourself, or someone else, when it seems like you may be ill. Can the Pixel 8 Pro lend a hand there?

What you can’t do with the Pixel 8 Pro temperature sensor

Someone holding a white Google Pixel 8 Pro to take a group selfie.
Google

Eventually, the goal of the temperature sensor on the Pixel 8 Pro is to measure the temperature of a person. This would be very beneficial in situations when you want to take someone’s temperature because they’re feeling sick, like with a fever.

In an instructional video leaked in May, Google showed users how to use the temperature sensor in the Pixel 8 Pro to do just that. Just by holding the phone “as close as possible” to someone’s forehead, then by moving it slowly across to the temple over an interval of 4 seconds, you can get a person’s temperature.

Why do we say “eventually?” That’s because the ability to measure a person’s temperature won’t be available until it gains Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, and who knows how long that process will take. It could happen in the next few weeks, months, or — more realistically — close to a year from now.

Overall, the temperature sensor on the Google Pixel 8 Pro just feels like a gimmick and something that wasn’t totally needed. Especially when the main use case, measuring a person’s temperature, won’t be available until it gets approval from the FDA. And even then, it may not be as accurate as a dedicated thermometer.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Christine Romero-Chan
Christine Romero-Chan
Staff Writer, Mobile
Christine Romero-Chan has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade. She graduated from California…
Is the Google Pixel 8a waterproof?
A render of the Google Pixel 8a with its scree turned on. It's against a light blue background.

Google's Pixel A series is an oddball compared to other midrange phones. Besides some mediocre features that fit the price, the A series phones surprisingly share some other attributes with their more premium siblings.

The all-new Google Pixel 8a is alike in this regard and shares such things as the Tensor G3 chip, wireless charging, and seven years of software support from Google. It's also the first A-series Pixel to get a 120Hz display. But if you're wondering whether or not the Pixel 8a is waterproof, here's what you need to know.
Is the Google Pixel 8a waterproof?

Read more
The 10 most important things to know about the Google Pixel 8a
Promo image for the Google Pixel 8a, showing renders of the phone in all four colors.

Google has just announced the next Pixel A-series device -- the new Google Pixel 8a. The A-series is the more budget-friendly Pixel option, and it comes out halfway in the cycle to the next mainline Pixel device.

This year, the Pixel 8a offers some big upgrades over its predecessor, the Google Pixel 7a. It’s also more similarly matched with the standard Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, both of which came out in October 2023.

Read more
The Google Pixel 8a price just leaked. Here’s how much it’ll cost
A photo of someone holding the mint Google Pixel 8a.

And so concludes the saga of Google Pixel 8a leaks, merely days ahead of its expected unveiling at the I/O developers conference. Earlier today, insider @OnLeaks (in collaboration with Smartprix) shared more marketing renders of the upcoming budget phone, complete with its asking price in tow.

It seems Google is going to charge $499 for its next phone, at least the 128GB base storage variant, that is. For the 256GB storage variant, buyers will have to shell out $599. That’s the same asking price as the Google Pixel 7a, which arrived last year and won plaudits for its terrific mix of raw firepower, camera prowess, and feature-loaded Pixel software experience.

Read more