DECEMBER 2019 PCWorld 63positioning than Face ID on the iPhone 11,
for a first-gen feature, I was impressed. It
works on the first try better than 95 percent
of the time, and it offers some subtle
improvements on Apple’s method. For one,
there’s a small bit of haptic feedback to let
you know it works, so you can stop holding
your phone up. And there’s an option to let
you skip right to the home screen once it
recognizes your face, saving a swipe and
making the whole system feel far quicker and
more integrated.
However, there’s a big caveat to Face
Unlock: It’s less secure than Apple’s Face
ID, at least for now. That’s because Face
Unlock doesn’t track your eyes, so
someone could conceivably hold your Pixel
4 up to your face while you’re sleeping and
unlock it. That’s not as big of a vulnerability
as a third-party screen protector giving you
access to the Galaxy S10, but it should raise
some eyebrows.
Granted, this probably won’t be a concern
for most people, but as the phone’s only
biometric-based unlocking method, one would
think Google would have made it as foolproof
as possible. As it stands, Google has issued a
vague promise to update it (go.pcworld.com/
fxp4) “in the coming months.” Attention
awareness is something Face ID had from day
one, and in an age of privacy and
security, it’s a glaring omission in an
otherwise welcome feature.
Equally frustrating is Face Unlock’s
lack of app support. Since Google has
taken away the fingerprint sensor,
you’re going to be typing your
password a lot because only a small
handful of apps (including Chrome and
Google Pay, naturally) have signed on
to support the Pixel 4’s new biometric.
Thankfully, most password managers
aside from LastPass will hook into Face
Unlock, but after you’ve logged in, any
repeated authentication will require a
passcode. That’s a major step
backward, and given Android’s history,
we’re not convinced those app
updates will arrive in a timely fashion.The Pixel 4 XL’s top bezel hides an array of tech, including
3D facial recognition.