Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro from last year.
Google’s next Pixel smartphones are launching next month, and new details suggest a much-needed upgrade is coming soon.
The Android Authority team reports, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the three Pixel 9 devices (the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL) will all feature an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner.
This should improve the responsiveness and accuracy of the biometric sensor in upcoming devices. The fingerprint readers on the last few Pixel devices have not been well received, with Google’s support pages full of complaints about the sensors, asking why they are unresponsive and inaccurate.
The current (and older) Pixels use an optical sensor, which can be weak in exactly the way many users have found and which, by its nature, are limited to 2D scanning. A switch to an ultrasonic sensor should provide more reliability when reading your fingerprint, more security when unlocking your device, and more accuracy when dealing with a wet screen or finger.
The new sensor isn’t the only upgrade Google is expected to make to the core hardware of the Pixel 9 series. An improved display has been spotted in the supply chain. Google could be gearing up to adopt dual-stack technology, which would give the Pixel 9 a brighter, longer-lasting display with lower power consumption.
Google is holding a launch event on August 9, where it will launch all three Pixel 9 devices, along with the next-generation Google AI.
Read the latest smartphone headlines in Forbes’ weekly Android Circuit news roundup now…