The Pixel 6 Pro almost launched with support for face unlock

With the success and effectiveness of Apple’s Face ID system, you would think that this is a feature that many Android handset makers would be quick to try to bring to their devices, but to date, it doesn’t really feel that way.

According to a report from 9to5Google, it seems that Google tried with the Pixel 6 Pro, but ultimately decided to pull it ahead of launch. It seems that this was a very last minute kind of decision because based on some early marketing materials, there were references made to face unlock, indicating that Google was pretty much on the cusp of releasing it but deciding to pull it at the end.

It is unclear why Google decided to kill the feature at launch. Perhaps it wasn’t good enough for their standards, but it’s not the first time they have done it. Before Android’s dark mode was officially released, it was spotted in previous generations of Android updates but failed to make the cut several times, so this seems to be in line with Google’s behavior.

That being said, 9to5Google’s sources have told them that Google is still planning on releasing it, possibly in the next major quarterly Android update, but even then it’s not guaranteed. We have come across evidence in the past suggesting that the feature is still in development, so we can only cross our fingers and hope that it is coming soon.

Source: 9to5Google