Remember years ago when temperature readings were still a requirement? It was to the point that smartphone makers actually mulled on the idea of including a sensor dedicated for that purpose on their devices, with the aim of helping people identify whether themselves or others are well enough to leave home.
Though a couple of years late, included in that list of manufacturers is Google, which first introduced the feature on last year’s Pixel 8 Pro and Pro XL smartphones. And yes, as mentioned in this article’s title, you’ll be glad to know that the recently launched Pixel 9 Pro models also come with this too.
Sorry, vanilla Pixel 9 owners. No temperature scanner on your device.
In case you’re wondering, the sensor itself is located on the camera bump on the back of the phone, just below the flash. To use it, all you need to do is launch the Thermometer app on your pixel and just point it towards the object that you wish to measure. Actually, merely holding it up allows it to measure the temperature at your current location – be it a room or the outdoors.
Apart from the sensor, the Thermometer app also uses the imaging system on the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL, but not for the reason you thought it would be. As much as we would like to have Predator-esque thermal vision, the camera’s role is mainly to provide you with visual aid when pointing towards an object which you wish to conduct a temperature check.
As for how accurate the sensor is, Google claims its own clinical trials determined that its software algorithm was able to calculate body temperature in the range of 36.1/40 degrees Celsius to plus/minus 0.3-degrees Celsius when compared with an US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared temporal artery thermometer. In fact, the company received the FDA’s De Novo classification for its temperature app in December of last year.
In other words, you could actually use it to check a person’s temperature to see if they have contracted a fever and so on, though a visit to the doctor is still the recommended approach. And even though the Pixel Pro’s thermometer app and sensor have received FDA approval, bear in mind that both are still unrecognised by our country’s own Medical Device Authority (MDA).
So what else is it good for? As mentioned earlier, you can use the sensor to detect the day’s current temperature, how hot your drink is, and many other things where it can come in handy. In short, it can be both practical and fun.
