Google Pixel 4 could include ‘Soli’ radar chip for air gestures

We’re just starting to learn the first details about this year’s Pixel phones. Yesterday came the first reputable render, seemingly confirming the phone would have a large camera array on the back. One report now claims the Pixel 4 will include the Soli radar chip that Google first showed off in 2015.

Our friends over at 9to5Google believe that the Soli radar chip is integrated in the Google Pixel 4, though they’re unsure exactly what purpose it would serve. XDA Developers found evidence that gestures for skip and silencing media are in development for Android Q, with the code referring to an “Aware” sensor — which could be Soli.

The technology was originally developed by Google’s ATAP division and publicly shown off at I/O 2015. The chip is a fingernail-sized radar capable of recognizing different hand gestures and relaying data to applications, potentially allowing hands-free gestures to come to the Pixel 4. Google was granted permission to continue developing Soli by the FCC earlier this year.

This wouldn’t be the first time a company tries to add air gestures to a phone. Samsung had a similar feature years ago, but that relied on the camera, and didn’t end up being very popular. More recently, the LG G8 includes an ‘Air Motion’ system that uses a time-of-flight sensor, but the feature is rather difficult to use.

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