Google Pixel 11 to Feature an Under-Display Infrared (IR) Camera for Face Unlock: Report

Google Pixel 11's Tensor G6 chip is expected to support the new IR camera system.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 29 October 2024 11:41 IST

Google Pixel 11 to Feature an Under-Display Infrared (IR) Camera for Face Unlock: Report

Photo Credit: Google

Pixel 4 has two IR cameras for facial recognition

Highlights

Apple reportedly planned under-display Face ID technology for 2026
Google's Pixel 11 is expected to launch in 2026
The existing face authentication solution relies on regular colour camera

Pixel 9 series was launched in August at Google's Made By Google event. The next generation Pixel 10 lineup isn't expected until the second half of next year but we are already starting to see leaks about the 2026 Pixel 11 lineup. A new leak from Google's chip division suggests that the tech giant plans to add an under-display infrared (IR) camera to the Pixel 11. This could enable a more secure face unlock. Google used this technology on the 2019 Pixel 4 model.

Google Pixel 11 May Get Improved Face Unlock

A report by Android Authority, citing leaked documents from Google's chips division, states that the company is exploring bringing back an under-display infrared (IR) camera to the Pixel 11. This would reportedly offer a more secure and versatile face unlock feature than the current face authentication system, which relies on regular front colour cameras.

Google's Tensor G6 chipset, which is expected to power the Pixel 11 series is likely to support the new IR camera system. The image signal processor (ISP) of the chip will reportedly have a new “lite” front end designed specifically for this purpose. If this plan goes through, it would potentially match Apple's rumoured under-display Face ID technology for 2026.

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This rumoured feature is similar to the secure face unlock offered by the Pixel 4. The 2019 Pixel phone includes two IR cameras for facial recognition that works even in the dark, but were removed in the following Pixel generations. Since the Pixel 7 series, all Pixel phones adopted a face authentication solution that uses the regular front colour camera.

Meanwhile, the placement of the regular selfie camera in the Pixel 11 model is unclear at this moment, however, it is expected to be housed in the hole punch cutout on the display.

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Google Pixel 4

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 5.70-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 855

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 16-megapixel + 12.2-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 64GB

Battery Capacity 2800mAh

OS Android 10

Resolution 1080x2280 pixels

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Further reading: Google Pixel 11, Pixel 4, Google, IR Camera

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More