I keep forgetting the Pixel 8 Pro even has a temperature sensor

Ben Schoon | Nov 12 2023 - 9:00 am PT

I love the Pixel 8 Pro, but there’s one element of the phone I just haven’t been using, and that’s the temperature sensor.

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Pixel phones have largely focused on providing a simple, smart experience, but Google also hasn’t been shy in trying out some random gimmicks here or there. The Pixel 4 is the biggest example of this, with the device debuting a Soli radar sensor that, while neat, wasn’t super useful and ultimately didn’t make it to any further releases. Ever since that, it’s felt like Google has played it especially safe, but the Pixel 8 Pro does, well, not that.

In a bizarre choice, Google equipped the Pixel 8 Pro with a temperature sensor on the back. The sensor can detect the surface temperature of an object when you’re within a few inches, but that’s really all it does. Google is waiting on FDA approval to capture human body temperatures using the sensor, which could maybe be a little useful, but as it stands today there’s just an app that can detect the surface temperature of an object.

And, folks, I can’t express how useless this has been so far.

In the several weeks I’ve been using the Pixel 8 Pro I’ve used this sensor all of twice, both just to get a sense of how it worked for our review. And, while the sensor works and the app is easy enough to use, there has not been a single valid use case that I’ve thought of. Every once in a while I’m just reminded that the sensor even exists because most of the time it’s far from mind.

Not even Google could come up with a genuinely useful use case for this feature, which is why it’s something that’s just buried. It only shows up in one app, is never mentioned in marketing, and literally only has one mention on Google’s own store page for the phone.

And, as a result, I just keep forgetting that it’s even there. Case in point, earlier this week Nick Sutrich over at Android Central put the Pixel 8 Pro’s temperature sensor through the wringer in a series of tests up against a classic thermometer and the results were not especially impressive. The Pixel was generally off by a decent margin in every test, which really just reinforces that it is not a useful feature. But, when I saw that post, I legitimately said to myself “oh right that’s a thing.”

I’m not convinced even approval for human body temperatures will make this sensor useful, and I feel quite confident that this won’t make it to the Pixel’s next generation.

This Week’s Top Stories

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It’s a weird choice.