Google could soon solve Pixel's biggest face unlock flaw

Google’s modern face unlock on recent Pixel flagships is Class 3 biometric certified, but as anyone who has tried unlocking their phone in a dim bedroom knows, it is practically useless once the lights go down. That shortcoming has long fueled anticipation around Google’s secretive Project Toscana, an effort to overhaul facial authentication across Pixel devices, Chromebooks, and presumably Googlebooks by extension. Now, new code discovered in Android 17 QPR3 Beta 1 reveals that Google is actively building a “Face Active Illumination” system to help solve face unlock’s low-light authentication woes.

We’ve spotted several clues in Android 17 QPR3 Beta 1 suggesting Google is working on a “Face Active Illumination” feature for Pixel devices, at least, which could make face authentication more reliable in low-light conditions. The code points to dedicated toggles for activating the feature, controlling its brightness, and specifying when it should be allowed to activate, but it doesn’t reveal exactly which hardware provides the illumination.

While we managed to activate the feature, we could only get an incomplete and seemingly empty UI to appear at this stage. Strings within the app (other than the “Do Not Disturb” text) are also obfuscated, so there’s still a fair bit of mystery around this feature, how it would work, and what it could even be called for its final marketing name.

From the UI, we can infer that the “Face Active Illumination” feature is within the Face Unlock settings and may offer three brightness levels via a slider. When read with the code, the toggles could let users choose whether illumination will be used in dark environments (maybe referring to dark mode?), during bedtime hours, during Do Not Disturb, and while driving.

It’s unclear whether Face Active Illumination uses IR technology, as previously spotted under Project Toscana, or is merely ramping up screen brightness to throw more light on your face for easier face unlock. The presence of toggles doesn’t instill confidence for the former, as users wouldn’t need granular control over an IR-based system, much like we see (or quite literally, don’t see) with Face ID on the iPhone. It is thus likely to be the latter, as the toggles would allow users to avoid flashbanging themselves with their phone display in certain low-light situations.

Google hasn’t announced any details about Face Active Illumination or Project Toscana, and there’s a fair chance the two aren’t related. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more details about either.