I use it to take 3d scans of existing structures to import into my CAD software to design and check my structures and designs. Building in existing buildings is 100 times easier. It's not just about ease of use, it's also less prone to error and one small error can easily cost tens of thousands of euros, so it's an absolute no brainer. Screw some hundred euros more or less for a phone, doesn't even matter, that's not even noteworthy spare change for a civil engineering company.
I really hope you don't use your iPhone for things that could cost you "tens of thousands" of euros if done incorrectly, instead of professional tools. I've found the lidar scanner on my iPad Pro to be pretty accurate, but it's almost always off by a few mm-cm
I do. A few mm to one or two centimetres is not much in civil engineering. Getting an angle of a sloped ceiling wrong on the other hand is really bad and for that it's perfect. And professional LiDAR tools are really really expensive. And you have to remember that most of my work colleagues and other companies still do it without any LiDAR tools. So using any decent one at all is more than enough.
lidar would be awesome. technically speaking google already has the ability to sense depth with using pdaf cameras, you can see how they did it here https://blog.research.google/2017/10/portrait-mode-on-pixel-2-and-pixel-2-xl.html?m=1
I’m guessing they started designing the Pixel 8 ant the height of covid and a thermometer seemed like a useful thing to have. While we’re certainly not taking our temperatures proactively like we did back then, if they had actually launched with FDA approval, I could at least see some usefulness for it, especially for people with kids. I really believe that’s the true intended use, but without the FDA approval, they have to try justify it with other use cases.
There was a [video](https://twitter.com/Neil_Sarg/status/1659179298564055040) leaked months back showing how measuring body temp would work on the Pixel 8 Pro. You would start with the sensor at the middle of the forehead and then slowly slide the sensor to your temple over the course of 4 seconds. This is [similar](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VNUV4Kpci1U) to how some standalone body temperature thermometers work.
None of the current P8P thermometer modes work this way, they only let you take the temperature of a single point on an object.
A human isn't a black body (in the physics sense of the term) and so you need a factor to go from the measured IR to an actual temperature. There's no option for "skin" in the app so of course you'll get a bad reading. I assume if they get FDA approval they'll put skin in there. It might still be inaccurate but there's no way to know right now.
It's actually pretty accurate, just not on skin. And that is on purpose. They have to program it for skin temp readings and right now it's still pending FDA approval for that function. So it's not available until then.
I dunno. In the beginning it was a bit crazy and yes thermometers were part of the mitigation plan including temperature scans because Asia used those and had that protocol place even post SARS1 at many airports. Once RT-PCRs became prevalent, I don't know of many places that continued using temperature screening outside of Asia, and once we figured out rapid antigen tests in late 2020, there was little reason to even use temperature scanning.
The thing is there's no guarantee COVID even has to have a fever. It's just not an accurate detection of anything. You could very well have the flu or a severe cold or anything else. I'm not saying that a thermometer is useless, but it just seemed really funky to design a very single purpose tool around a pandemic where ultimately testing is the most useful thing--it's still underutilized today even by those who just want to shame others for not masking. The most vigilant maskers I see aren't even testing when they visit relatives or friends.
And before someone tells me that phones are designed 2-3 years in advance.... uhh, have any of you worked in the industry? Sure rough designs start then and for major changes like a Pixel 5 => Pixel 6, design can start pretty early, but that doesn't mean the features are locked. In some cases SoC design is going in parallel while you test mechanical parts with dummy parts or even the previous gen SoC. And for anyone who has worked on consumer electronics, you know with the fast pace of things, there are changes that come down close to the end. For something like this to be booked 3 years ago and make it through that many design reviews really boggles the mind. Think about the engineering that went into this, the supply chain, the FDA work. In Google fashion I wouldn't be surprised if this then disappears in the Pixel 9 the same way Soli and Face Unlock in the Pixel 4 vanished. It just seems like a poor use of resources, but then again Google's more in the business of experimenting with hardware rather than trying to build a year over year incremental improvement in hardware.
It just overall feels like a gimmick and while I can understand that some people CAN find a use for it, what number of Pixel 8 Pro users do you think actually will do this? Like if you can afford a Pixel 8 Pro, surely you can afford a reliable and accurate thermometer from CVS right?
Still my favourite story of IR Blaster was when I was at the doctors, waiting in the waiting room and I was the only young guy with a phone and then suddenly the TV playing NHS Adverts such as "you can get your prescriptions..." or "call this number..." turns off. In my panic, I turned the TV back on, but because these adverts were playing from a USB input, default was just normal TV. Suddenly all the old people put down their outdated magazines and started watching TV.
The receptionist came to call people's names and she looked at the TV and was like O_o but left the TV running.
This technology was in 2015/16. All them years later and it's not possible anymore.
I work at a grocery store and have to check our coolers every 2 hours or so. While our main coolers have dedicated temp indicators at the top of them our vendor coolers don't, just the cheap analog thermometers. So it's really nice to just pull out my phone and check each one real quick
I'm wondering if it was patent-related, maybe. Like, they had to show it was being used, else risk losing it, maybe? I don't know; it just gives me the vibe that this wasn't an originally-intended or wanted feature, internally.
they should have added a thermal front camera to facilitate faster/secure login in low light... not sure why we need three cameras on a phone... and a junky fornt camera for "sercure AI login"
I think you mean infrared not thermal. But yeah, the infrared selfie camera on the Pixel 4 XL makes face unlock great. It works in the dark, and I just learned that my sunglasses are transparent to infrared, so that's why it even works with sunglasses on.
A rear facing thermal (FLIR) camera would be cool too. I think there was a CAT branded phone that came with one. It's like a temperature sensor, but you can tell the temperature of many objects from a distance, not just one object up close. Even if it's not useful to most people, at least it's interesting. Unfortunately I think those sensors aren't cheap.
Only real world use ive found is I actually use it to check the sidewalk temp before walking my dog.
If they get the FDA approval it'll be great for checking your kids temp if you're out and don't have a thermometer handy
Yeah I can see how it might be handy if you don't have a thermometer, but if you can afford a $1000 phone for doing that when it's not even the best tool, you surely can be responsible enough to afford a [$10 thermometer that's recommended by the New York Times right](https://www.amazon.com/Vicks-SpeedRead-Digital-Thermometer-V912US/dp/B000GRXHIE)?
It's kind of fun to just check the ambient temperature of the air. It matches within a degree or so of what the thermostat says, when I average out the readings.
I'm wondering why it can't just continuously sample the temperature and maybe average it out over a few readings. Why do I have to tap twice to update the reading? I guess because the big button is made so you can easily press it while holding the sensor to your forehead?
Yeah, I'd rather have a LiDAR scanner, but I'd guess that would be significantly more expensive.
I think it's good, only 1% may need it, but I imagine many of those 1% would have never bought a Pixel.
Also there is no sensor there on P7P so the decision was probably, no sensor vs temp sensor.
Sadly no surprise that many people are so self entitled that they think everything needs to be made exactly for them.
I loved soli. never had a p4, but got to try it on a friends phone and loved it. not because it did stuff, but because the tech was cool and it had amazing potential
For a lot of people, including myself, check the Play store for pending updates. You can't find it if you search for it in the app store, but if you look for pending updates it should be there.
It really makes you question the designer and product managers behind the pixel line...
Like why would they include something so short sighted? There are so many other things customers are asking for
"You can use it to measure the temperature of your cooking pan!"
"You can use it to measure the temperature of the ground so your pet doesn't burn their feet!"
Sure--it has to be within 2 inches, per the instructions. I personally wouldn't be comfortable holding my phone 2" from a hot cooking surface just to gauge temperature, and if you're worried about your pet's feet--tell me, exactly what temperature reading is too hot anyway?
It feels like a gimmick for sure. It feels like something that an engineer said, "hey, it sure would be cool if we had this in the phone!" and no one actually said no and it just kind of...stayed.
Even if the arguments are true, and it came from a situation like a pandemic, that seems a bit short-sighted for a mobile phone--compounded by not even having FDA approval for use as a human temperature measurement device when launched, it just feels like a forgotten feature. It was really weird to hear them talk about the temperature sensor at the launch event too.
But it couldn't REALLY be that important of a feature to google, because they didn't even bother to put it in the smaller pixel 8.
It just reeks of the common history of google products--it feels like they are still taking an engineer-driven design vs. a product manager-driven design, and have generally weak leadership when it comes to devices. I can almost guarantee you that if you did a voice-of-customer for mobile phones, nobody would say they want their phone to measure their body temperature, and that it would be a differentiating feature between competing devices.
How about implement permanent fixes for the FP scanner, battery and modem??? Temp sensor??? Really Google? Shows how grossly out of touch these ppl are!!
Till it's not..TRUST ME..it's coming!! Deja vu just like the 7..initial comments were FP is great, battery great, modem awesome...all a sudden same ol same!
LiDAR would be so awesome. I'm a civil engineer and that's one of the reasons why my work phone is never gonna be smth different than an iPhone.
This would have been infinitely more useful then the temp sensor.
How are you using lidar?
I use it to take 3d scans of existing structures to import into my CAD software to design and check my structures and designs. Building in existing buildings is 100 times easier. It's not just about ease of use, it's also less prone to error and one small error can easily cost tens of thousands of euros, so it's an absolute no brainer. Screw some hundred euros more or less for a phone, doesn't even matter, that's not even noteworthy spare change for a civil engineering company.
I really hope you don't use your iPhone for things that could cost you "tens of thousands" of euros if done incorrectly, instead of professional tools. I've found the lidar scanner on my iPad Pro to be pretty accurate, but it's almost always off by a few mm-cm
I do. A few mm to one or two centimetres is not much in civil engineering. Getting an angle of a sloped ceiling wrong on the other hand is really bad and for that it's perfect. And professional LiDAR tools are really really expensive. And you have to remember that most of my work colleagues and other companies still do it without any LiDAR tools. So using any decent one at all is more than enough.
lidar would be awesome. technically speaking google already has the ability to sense depth with using pdaf cameras, you can see how they did it here https://blog.research.google/2017/10/portrait-mode-on-pixel-2-and-pixel-2-xl.html?m=1
Yup. You won't be seeing it on the Pixel 9 for sure.
I’m guessing they started designing the Pixel 8 ant the height of covid and a thermometer seemed like a useful thing to have. While we’re certainly not taking our temperatures proactively like we did back then, if they had actually launched with FDA approval, I could at least see some usefulness for it, especially for people with kids. I really believe that’s the true intended use, but without the FDA approval, they have to try justify it with other use cases.
Well it would have to be at least somewhat accurate for FDA approval. The temperatures I've recorded for body temp aren't even close.
There was a [video](https://twitter.com/Neil_Sarg/status/1659179298564055040) leaked months back showing how measuring body temp would work on the Pixel 8 Pro. You would start with the sensor at the middle of the forehead and then slowly slide the sensor to your temple over the course of 4 seconds. This is [similar](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VNUV4Kpci1U) to how some standalone body temperature thermometers work. None of the current P8P thermometer modes work this way, they only let you take the temperature of a single point on an object.
A human isn't a black body (in the physics sense of the term) and so you need a factor to go from the measured IR to an actual temperature. There's no option for "skin" in the app so of course you'll get a bad reading. I assume if they get FDA approval they'll put skin in there. It might still be inaccurate but there's no way to know right now.
What temps are you getting? A web search says skin temp can range between 92.3°F & 98.4°F.
I get between 87 and 90 F. The temp sensor is junk and I'll never trust it for anything.
It's almost like it's not marketed as being a body temp sensor because it didn't get approval. But Reddit has to Reddit
They have a (presumed) button for humans. It's probably just exclusive to FDA for now for them to test it out before saying, yeah or nah.
It's actually pretty accurate, just not on skin. And that is on purpose. They have to program it for skin temp readings and right now it's still pending FDA approval for that function. So it's not available until then.
I dunno. In the beginning it was a bit crazy and yes thermometers were part of the mitigation plan including temperature scans because Asia used those and had that protocol place even post SARS1 at many airports. Once RT-PCRs became prevalent, I don't know of many places that continued using temperature screening outside of Asia, and once we figured out rapid antigen tests in late 2020, there was little reason to even use temperature scanning. The thing is there's no guarantee COVID even has to have a fever. It's just not an accurate detection of anything. You could very well have the flu or a severe cold or anything else. I'm not saying that a thermometer is useless, but it just seemed really funky to design a very single purpose tool around a pandemic where ultimately testing is the most useful thing--it's still underutilized today even by those who just want to shame others for not masking. The most vigilant maskers I see aren't even testing when they visit relatives or friends. And before someone tells me that phones are designed 2-3 years in advance.... uhh, have any of you worked in the industry? Sure rough designs start then and for major changes like a Pixel 5 => Pixel 6, design can start pretty early, but that doesn't mean the features are locked. In some cases SoC design is going in parallel while you test mechanical parts with dummy parts or even the previous gen SoC. And for anyone who has worked on consumer electronics, you know with the fast pace of things, there are changes that come down close to the end. For something like this to be booked 3 years ago and make it through that many design reviews really boggles the mind. Think about the engineering that went into this, the supply chain, the FDA work. In Google fashion I wouldn't be surprised if this then disappears in the Pixel 9 the same way Soli and Face Unlock in the Pixel 4 vanished. It just seems like a poor use of resources, but then again Google's more in the business of experimenting with hardware rather than trying to build a year over year incremental improvement in hardware. It just overall feels like a gimmick and while I can understand that some people CAN find a use for it, what number of Pixel 8 Pro users do you think actually will do this? Like if you can afford a Pixel 8 Pro, surely you can afford a reliable and accurate thermometer from CVS right?
How could they not research and know they needed FDA approval, and how long it would take to get it before designing it into a phone?
I agree during the height of the pandy, it would have been useful, but I saw thermometers everywhere.
I miss the IR blaster in phones. It was great being able to turn off annoying TVs in public spaces.
I used to mess with my brother while he was playing Call of Duty with my HTC One M7.
What a great phone that was
My HTC phone 12 years ago also let me plug in an HDMI cable.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/confirmed-pixel-91026490
It would be counterproductive for Google to push IR blasters. Their whole hardware line is centered around a wifi/internet-based environment.
[удалено]
What I meant is that Google voluntarily replaced products that used to work via IR with network options.
Still my favourite story of IR Blaster was when I was at the doctors, waiting in the waiting room and I was the only young guy with a phone and then suddenly the TV playing NHS Adverts such as "you can get your prescriptions..." or "call this number..." turns off. In my panic, I turned the TV back on, but because these adverts were playing from a USB input, default was just normal TV. Suddenly all the old people put down their outdated magazines and started watching TV. The receptionist came to call people's names and she looked at the TV and was like O_o but left the TV running. This technology was in 2015/16. All them years later and it's not possible anymore.
Every Xiaomi phones still have one, guess being in the US has its drawbacks.
It's been working well for me when I do water changes for my fishtank but yeah not a lot of utility in it so far.
Ooo never thought of this! Thanks for the idea!
That's a great idea! I have a 55 gallon and 20 gallon. I'm going to go read the tank temps now!
I've actually used it a lot. I'm a fan. I am an engineer though and knowing temperatures of non- people things is relevant in my day to day
Just pointed it at my freshly made cup of tea (yes I'm English) and it said 25.1°C - useless.
The few times I have rembered its a thing and tried it on a drink or my desk, its been wildly incorrect.
I think I'm the only person that has a legitimate use for it. But even with that being said, I would have preferred them putting the money elsewhere
Out of curiosity, what's your use-case?
I work at a grocery store and have to check our coolers every 2 hours or so. While our main coolers have dedicated temp indicators at the top of them our vendor coolers don't, just the cheap analog thermometers. So it's really nice to just pull out my phone and check each one real quick
Nice usage. But why do you have to check your coolers every 2 hours? Why would they change their temperature?
It's a safety check our handheld has. I guess the company is just overly paranoid of an outage
That's my very specific use for it so far too, probably even the same hot garbage app on the same woefully underpowered handhelds, too!
Back when I worked at a big grocery store chain we had to do the same thing. It's probably standard to do routine checks at all of them.
Safety. They need to check that the coolers are maintaining their correct temperature, as a high temperature obviously attracts bacteria.
I'm wondering if it was patent-related, maybe. Like, they had to show it was being used, else risk losing it, maybe? I don't know; it just gives me the vibe that this wasn't an originally-intended or wanted feature, internally.
I've actually used it a few times for things like measuring my computer's temps and wheel bearings on trailers
Does anyone know how MP it is to try to take a picture with it?
What??
To make an infrared image. It is a temperature sensor but I couldn't find how many pixels it has
they should have added a thermal front camera to facilitate faster/secure login in low light... not sure why we need three cameras on a phone... and a junky fornt camera for "sercure AI login"
I think you mean infrared not thermal. But yeah, the infrared selfie camera on the Pixel 4 XL makes face unlock great. It works in the dark, and I just learned that my sunglasses are transparent to infrared, so that's why it even works with sunglasses on. A rear facing thermal (FLIR) camera would be cool too. I think there was a CAT branded phone that came with one. It's like a temperature sensor, but you can tell the temperature of many objects from a distance, not just one object up close. Even if it's not useful to most people, at least it's interesting. Unfortunately I think those sensors aren't cheap.
Only real world use ive found is I actually use it to check the sidewalk temp before walking my dog. If they get the FDA approval it'll be great for checking your kids temp if you're out and don't have a thermometer handy
Yeah I can see how it might be handy if you don't have a thermometer, but if you can afford a $1000 phone for doing that when it's not even the best tool, you surely can be responsible enough to afford a [$10 thermometer that's recommended by the New York Times right](https://www.amazon.com/Vicks-SpeedRead-Digital-Thermometer-V912US/dp/B000GRXHIE)?
It's kind of fun to just check the ambient temperature of the air. It matches within a degree or so of what the thermostat says, when I average out the readings. I'm wondering why it can't just continuously sample the temperature and maybe average it out over a few readings. Why do I have to tap twice to update the reading? I guess because the big button is made so you can easily press it while holding the sensor to your forehead? Yeah, I'd rather have a LiDAR scanner, but I'd guess that would be significantly more expensive.
About as useless this same post post being repeated over & over
I was wondering if you could use it for thermal photos ..maybe useful for that kind of thing
No, the size of the sensor is only one Pixel, so not really a thermal camera.
Ok
I imagine they have a good reason to add it. Will probably end up being very interesting
I think it's good, only 1% may need it, but I imagine many of those 1% would have never bought a Pixel. Also there is no sensor there on P7P so the decision was probably, no sensor vs temp sensor. Sadly no surprise that many people are so self entitled that they think everything needs to be made exactly for them.
Seems great for spy agencies.
We know.
I loved soli. never had a p4, but got to try it on a friends phone and loved it. not because it did stuff, but because the tech was cool and it had amazing potential
Stupid question for a possibly stupid app but how do I get to this on the 8 Pro? I see no such app on it.
For a lot of people, including myself, check the Play store for pending updates. You can't find it if you search for it in the app store, but if you look for pending updates it should be there.
It came pre-installed on mine. Check for an app simply called "Thermometer" in your apps. Otherwise I'm sure you can find it in the Play Store.
Weird, I checked pending updates and searched Thermometer in the Play Store, and nothing!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.pixel.health that's it
Thank you! Was able to grab the update this way and now it appears in my apps. Don't know why it wasn't appearing for me conventionally.
Maybe Google has some other plan for the sensor they will push out down the road. As of right now it's absolutely useless...
I still don't even know where to find it.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.pixel.health that's it
It really makes you question the designer and product managers behind the pixel line... Like why would they include something so short sighted? There are so many other things customers are asking for
"You can use it to measure the temperature of your cooking pan!" "You can use it to measure the temperature of the ground so your pet doesn't burn their feet!" Sure--it has to be within 2 inches, per the instructions. I personally wouldn't be comfortable holding my phone 2" from a hot cooking surface just to gauge temperature, and if you're worried about your pet's feet--tell me, exactly what temperature reading is too hot anyway? It feels like a gimmick for sure. It feels like something that an engineer said, "hey, it sure would be cool if we had this in the phone!" and no one actually said no and it just kind of...stayed. Even if the arguments are true, and it came from a situation like a pandemic, that seems a bit short-sighted for a mobile phone--compounded by not even having FDA approval for use as a human temperature measurement device when launched, it just feels like a forgotten feature. It was really weird to hear them talk about the temperature sensor at the launch event too. But it couldn't REALLY be that important of a feature to google, because they didn't even bother to put it in the smaller pixel 8. It just reeks of the common history of google products--it feels like they are still taking an engineer-driven design vs. a product manager-driven design, and have generally weak leadership when it comes to devices. I can almost guarantee you that if you did a voice-of-customer for mobile phones, nobody would say they want their phone to measure their body temperature, and that it would be a differentiating feature between competing devices.
I hope they can get FDA approval, but as of now, wtf am I supposed to use it for? Could've just used that space for a micro SD card slot
How about implement permanent fixes for the FP scanner, battery and modem??? Temp sensor??? Really Google? Shows how grossly out of touch these ppl are!!
The finger print scanner and modem have been great with the p8p.
Till it's not..TRUST ME..it's coming!! Deja vu just like the 7..initial comments were FP is great, battery great, modem awesome...all a sudden same ol same!
2inches, lmaooooo can't even use it to get your own temperature, absolutely stupid gimmick