One of the most surprising additions to Google’s Pixel hardware in recent years is temperature sensing. The Google Pixel 8 Pro is equipped with a temperature sensor that can measure the temperature of objects by “scanning” them from a maximum distance within a range of five centimeters. Google says the sensor is good for “drinks, cooking pans, water temperatures, and more.”
However, the smartphone community is hell-bent on pushing it to gimmick status. But the average Pixel 8 Pro owner is finding good ways to use it. As detailed in this Reddit post, a Pixel 8 Pro user was caught in a storm that knocked out power for 36 hours, leaving them with no food left in the refrigerator. Was put in a dilemma about the situation.
“Using it, I was able to easily identify foods that were close to their melting point, allowing me to make informed decisions about what to discard and what to keep,” the post reads. Another user noted in the comments section that the readings from the Pixel 8 Pro’s onboard sensor were “within a degree” compared to an infrared thermometer when measuring the heat of a pan and the condition inside the refrigerator.
“I used mine to confirm boiler temperatures for my HVAC system. It was on the nose,” notes another person in the answers section. A separate Reddit post details how a Pixel 8 Pro user deployed the sensor to check how hot the sidewalk is before taking their pet for a walk.
The official thermometer app that Google has released for the Pixel 8 Pro mentions that the sensor is good enough for a temperature range of -5 degrees Fahrenheit and 302 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the app warns that accuracy may vary depending on the size of the object and how close the temperature reading is compared to the sensor’s upper and lower limits.
Before you can measure temperature values, the app lets you choose from 10 categories including food and organic, beverages and water, cast iron, glass, matte metal, shiny metal, and fabric. There is a clear difference between glossy and matte surfaces as they emit heat to different degrees, and sensor readings have to be adjusted appropriately.
In my own brief tests in a room with the temperature set at 23 degrees centigrade, the sensor’s readings mostly varied by one to three degrees compared to readings taken from the thermal gun on household objects such as ceramic cups, bags, PC monitors, glasses, etc. Windows, table surfaces, and charging adapters, etc. The same was true when measuring a person’s skin temperature by pointing the Pixel 8 Pro’s temperature sensor at the forehead.
Those are not bad statistics by any stretch of the imagination. But keep in mind that the sensor has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, which means it’s not advisable to use Google’s flagship to measure skin temperature.
I recently spoke with Paul G. Interviewed experts at the Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering about an app that can “reliably measure body temperature and detect symptoms of fever” using the onboard sensors inside most smartphones “. The research is quite interesting.
