- According to the latest rumors and reports, the Google Pixel 4 is getting a few big changes over the current Pixel 3 lineup.
- Many of the changes we know about actually come from Google itself.
- The biggest changes include an advanced facial-recognition system and hand-motion gesture controls powered by radar tech that Google has worked on for five years in an internal project called “Soli.”
- There’s plenty of information and renders shared by reliable sources, too.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Once the rumors surrounding Google’s upcoming Pixel 4 smartphone started emerging, Google itself joined in on the fun.
Google tweeted a teaser image of the Pixel 4 back in June, and later on, it published a blog post detailing two new features to expect in the Pixel 4, including an advanced facial-recognition system and hand-motion gesture controls.
With Google’s own image, there are at least a couple things about the Pixel 4 that we can confirm: It’ll come with a dual-lens rear camera system, and it won’t have a rear fingerprint sensor like the Pixel 3 does.
More and more rumors are turning up the closer we get to October, the month Google usually reserves to announce its new Pixel smartphones.
As for the rest, we'll have to turn to good old-fashioned rumors and reports, all of which come from reliable sources.
Check out the most reliable rumors and details we know about Google's Pixel 4 so far:
First of all, here's the 100% real and confirmed Pixel 4, straight from Google itself.
Google even has a billboard in Times Square showing off the Pixel 4 in a color that's said to be called "Oh So Orange."
The Pixel 4 will come with a dual-lens camera system.
With a few simple adjustments to Google's photo, we can see a dual-lens camera system.
One of the lenses is surely a regular camera that all smartphones have, and most rumors and leaks suggest the other lens is for zoomed photos.
It's rumored that Google is adding a camera mode called "Motion Mode" that will let you take portrait mode shots with the blurry backgroud effect of subjects that move around, according to 9to5Google. Think pets - especially cats - and moving people, like at a sports game. Previously, to get that blurry background effect, your subjects had to remain fairly still.
The Pixel 4 will also supposedly have an improved Night Sight mode for low-light photos, according to XDA-Developers. It's hard to imagine that Google's Night Sight could be improved, seeing as no other smartphone comes close to the Pixel phones for low-light shots. It's said that the Night Sight mode will allow for a special astrophotography mode that will let you take better pictures of the night sky and stars.
XDA-Developers also said the Pixel 4's camera will be able to achieve 8x zoom, but it's not clear if that 8x zoom is from natural lens zoom, which looks better than artificial digital zooming.
If you want a better look at what the Pixel 4 will look like, there are almost too many video and photo leaks to count.
A video supposedly showing off Google's upcoming Pixel 4 XL smartphone was posted to Facebook by Malaysian tech store Halo Mobile, as first spotted by tech leaks and rumors site Slashleaks.
It's potentially the first full look at the Pixel 4 XL's exterior.
Here's another video ...
... and another one.
The Pixel 4 will have a fast screen that displays animations incredibly smoothly.
The Pixel 4 phones are rumored to feature a 90Hz screen compared to the 60Hz screens that most smartphone use so far.
That extra 30Hz means animations on Android and apps will look and feel smoother and faster. So far, phones from Razer, Asus, and OnePlus have featured screens with more than the standard 60Hz, and it makes a big impact.
The Pixel 4 will have a large "forehead" — or top bezel — where a stack of technology and sensors will sit.
This image comes straight from Google. It confirms that the Pixel 4 will have a large top bezel above the display where a bunch of tech and sensor will be used for new features, which Google itself confirmed. Read on to see what those new features are.
Part of the tech in the Pixel 4's massive forehead Google is technology created by an internal Google project, called "Project Soli," for advanced facial recognition.
Soli will bring facial recognition that's as secure and complex as Apple's Face ID. But the Pixel 4's facial recognition will seemingly be more efficient and seamless.
Unlike Apple's Face ID, facial recognition on the Pixel 4 won't require you to place the phone directly in front of your face and swipe up to begin the facial recognition process. Instead, Google says that Soli on the Pixel 4 "proactively turns on the face unlock sensors, recognizing that you may want to unlock your phone. If the face unlock sensors and algorithms recognize you, the phone will open as you pick it up, all in one motion."
You'll be able to control certain things on the Pixel 4 with hand waves and gestures.
Motion Sense powered by Soli will "allow you to skip songs, snooze alarms, and silence phone calls, just by waving your hand," Google said in its blog post, where the company confirmed its Motion Sense feature in the Pixel 4.
Google isn't the first company to try its hand at hand-gesture controls, and the concept hasn't really clicked in smartphones. But Google said that the initial use-cases for Motion Sense - skipping songs, snoozing alarms, and silencing phone calls - are just the beginning.
"These capabilities are just the start, and just as Pixels get better over time, Motion Sense will evolve as well," Google said in its blog post. So we can expect more to come with hand and motion-gesture control on the Pixel 4.
The Pixel 4 will have a feature that waits on hold for you when you call a business' customer support so that you don't have to wait yourself.
Google's upcoming Pixel 4 smartphone will bear the burden of being on-hold during a call so that you don't have to wait, according to 9to5Google, citing a "reliable source."
Soon, you'll supposedly be able to tap a button to tell the Pixel 4 that you're on hold. Google Assistant's AI smarts will then recognize the difference between a human voice and the ear-piercing low-quality music businesses often use to keep you "entertained" when they place you on hold.
Google might ditch the rear fingerprint sensor and go for an in-display front-facing sensor.
You may have spotted in Google's own tweeted image of the Pixel 4 that there's no fingerprint sensor on the back.
One possibility is that Google will adopt an in-display fingerprint sensor, like we've seen on the Galaxy S10 and OnePlus 7 Pro, as an extra option for the Soli-powered facial recognition.
The Pixel 4 phones will run on the chip-of-choice for 2019's premium smartphones, but rumors suggest it'll have a middling spec for RAM.
According to XDA-Developers, the Pixel 4 phones will unsurprisingly run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 chip, which is turning the wheels in most premium smartphones in 2019.
The Pixel 4 phones will also supposedly have 6 GB of RAM, which would be an improvement over the 4 GB of RAM in the Pixel 3 phones that have arguably caused some performance issues. Still, 6 GB is comparatively little compared to other smartphones, which often sport a minimum of 8GB.
RAM is the special memory in phones that keeps all the apps you've recently used open in the background. It lets you return to an app without having to open it from scratch, which takes longer than simply returning to it. More RAM basically means faster and smoother performance, especially when you're flicking between several apps.
Lastly, for now, it appears that someone found a minute-long promotional video for the Pixel 4 that coroborate Google's own teases, as well as rumors. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoGaGe10VyY
The Pixel 4 is expected launch in October.
Google usually announces its new Pixel phones in October, so that's when we're expecting the Pixel 4.
Gadgets leaker Evan Blass obtained a supposed release calendar from Verizon that also suggests an October announcement for the Pixel 4.
As for the price, that's still up in the air at the moment, but check back once in a while to see if any pricing rumors have emerged.
