Earlier this week, Google fully unveiled the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (and the rest of the Pixel 9 series), but even more specs and features will be revealed after the event—including a major security upgrade for the successor to the Google Pixel Fold.
As Android Police reports, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s face unlock feature is an improvement over the original Pixel Fold. While the previous foldable device featured facial recognition in addition to fingerprint recognition, the new model’s facial recognition is harder to fool.
This means you can use your face to unlock secure apps (like password managers or banking apps) as well as to unlock the phone itself. This gives you extra security in case someone else gains access to your phone.
You can check the upgrade on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold by opening the settings and going to Security and data protection, Device lockAnd Unlock with fingerprint and faceOn this screen, you’ll find the option to use your face to access the handset’s most secure apps.
Other class
While many Android phones offer face unlock, not all of them offer the same level of accuracy and reliability—the kind of accuracy and reliability you get with Face ID on Apple phones like the iPhone 15, for example.
It all depends on the hardware and software built into the phone. A regular selfie front camera can recognize a face, but it can also be tricked with a photo of a person – making it a far from insurmountable protection measure.
With an additional depth sensor to measure facial contours, the technology is significantly more robust. This is called Class 3 biometric protection, the highest available, and it seems likely that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has just that.
Check out our Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold hands-on for our first impressions of the device. We’ll have a full review coming soon. We’ve also looked at the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL.