Under Apple’s shadow, Google takes a new identity route on Pixel phones

The feature on the new Pixel 7 isn’t quite as good as Apple Inc’s Face ID unlocking mechanism, as it can struggle in low light and is vulnerable to spoofs. In addition, Google has stated that it is not secure enough to enable you to sign in to apps or make payments.

The comeback comes after Google became strict about launching products with facial recognition, partly due to questions about its performance on darker skin tones. One of the sources said the company took the time to review its approach to training and testing facial recognition since the last Pixel with the capability launched in 2019.

Google declined to comment on a number of specific questions about its history with Face Unlock. It generally said, “Thanks to the advanced machine learning model for facial recognition, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro feature Face Unlock, but we’re doing it a little differently.” “We achieve good facial accuracy performance with the front-facing camera,” it added.

Google’s search for Face Unlock for Android smartphones lasted at least a decade, sources said, but it came under greater pressure when Apple released Face ID in September 2017.

Up until that point, Google struggled to design a system that both performed quickly and was impervious to spoofing, or using photos or hyper-realistic costumes to unlock someone else’s phone. A source said. The source said engineers toyed with proving a person’s “viability”—with a smile or a wink—to combat the spoofing, but it was awkward and slow.

Another source noted that after the arrival of Apple’s Face ID, which uses a depth-sensing and infrared camera called TrueDepth to map a face, Google executives signed on to a comparable technology. Google’s Pixel 4, released in 2019, has its infrared depth-sensing setup called uDepth.

According to Google, it performs well in dark conditions, with no more than a 1-in-50,000 chance that it will unlock a phone for an unauthorized face.

But the gear was expensive. And while Apple sells 240 million iPhones annually, Google tops a few million, preventing it from buying parts at a volume discount made by Apple.

Sources said that Google dropped uDepth in Pixel 5 in 2020 due to cost.

Two sources said that face masking due to the pandemic caused Google to exclude the feature from last year’s Pixel 6 and additional research time.

Face unlock on newer phones relies on a specific front camera. But unlike the previous system, it can’t securely unlock apps and payments because Google says the potential for spoofing — such as by capturing a user’s photo — is over 20%, above the 7% limit making it the most ” safe” should be considered.

Google says low light and sunglasses can also cause trouble, noting fingerprint unlock is an option.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.