This Underrated Google Pixel 9 Feature Is Still One Of My Favorite Things About The Phone

Joe Maring / Android Authority

Ever since the first Google Pixel debuted in 2016, one of the highlights of the series has been Google’s ability to deliver clever, original, and legitimately helpful software features. From Now Playing to Call Screen to Quick Tap, Google’s Pixel-exclusive features are among the biggest reasons to choose its phones over anything else.

I’ve used almost every Google Pixel model, so I speak from experience about how good these features really are. Having my phone wait on hold for me during a phone call feels like a cheat code. Glancing at my lock screen to see what song is playing without opening an app is unbelievably helpful. And as someone who regularly partakes in interviews and press briefings for work, the Google Recorder app is the only one I trust with recording and transcribing important conversations.

But above all, there’s one feature on my Google Pixel 9 Pro that I use more often and find more helpful than almost anything else. I’m talking about face unlock.

Why face unlock on the Google Pixel 9 is so good

Joe Maring / Android Authority

Almost every Android phone today allows you to unlock your phone with facial recognition, and the Google Pixel 9 does, too. But unlike most other Android phones, face unlock on the Pixel 9 goes a step further in that you can use it to unlock apps, too. Whether it’s 1Password, your banking app, or something else, you can unlock all of it just by looking at your phone.

Admittedly, this isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. The iPhone has had Face ID since the iPhone X, and Google itself offered this level of face unlock with the Pixel 4 and Pixel 8 lineups. It’s not a brand-new innovation for the Pixel 9, but it’s by far one of the most convenient.

I recently started using the Google Pixel 9 Pro after not having touched it for a few months, and almost immediately, I was reminded just how good this secure level of facial recognition can be.

Face unlock isn’t a brand new innovation for the Pixel 9, but it’s by far one of the most convenient.

When I pick up the phone and turn on the screen, the Pixel 9 Pro almost instantly sees and recognizes my face, meaning I just have to swipe up on the screen to unlock it. When I open my banking app or one of my credit card apps, it takes less than a second for the Pixel 9 Pro to scan my face and let me see my finances.

For the many times throughout the day I need to access 1Password, being able to open the app or select a password on my keyboard with autofill and have it all work instantly — without me needing to scan a fingerprint or enter a PIN — is almost magical. Paying with Google Wallet is easier, too. I just open the app, hold my phone to the NFC reader, and I’m good to go. The Pixel 9 automatically scans my face and authenticates the payments without me having to think about it.

A Google Pixel feature at its best

Joe Maring / Android Authority

Although the Pixel 9’s face unlock ultimately achieves the same goal as a fingerprint sensor (which the Pixel 9 also has), face unlock automates the whole biometric security process in a way that makes using the Pixel 9 wonderfully effortless.

While putting your finger on a fingerprint sensor obviously isn’t difficult, it still requires action from you. But face unlock doesn’t. So long as you’re looking at your phone, even at an off-angle, it all works passively and in the background. Impressively, all of this happens without any special imaging or camera hardware. Google pulls it off with a regular selfie camera plus machine learning tricks from its Tensor chips.

For me, that’s what it ultimately boils down to. Just like how opening Shazam to identify a song is easy to do, having your Pixel automatically ID the song for you is, admittedly, much more convenient.

Joe Maring / Android Authority

The same is true of the Pixel 9’s face unlock. Does it kill me to use a fingerprint sensor to unlock my phone or my password manager? Of course not. But face unlock undeniably makes it simpler. For those times when my phone is on my desk and I’m typing, if my hands are messy while I’m doing the dishes or making dinner, or if I’m outside and have gloves on (a regular occurrence this time of year in Michigan), face unlock is better in all of those scenarios.

These are the types of features that make Google’s Pixel phones so damn good.

These are the types of features that make Google’s Pixel phones so damn good. Ones that don’t necessarily change how you use your phone but that make everyday life just a little bit easier. And they’re the features I wish Google would advertise and focus on more, rather than things like AI image generation.

Face unlock rarely comes up when discussing the Pixel 9 series, but it’s been one of the best parts of returning to the Pixel 9 Pro — and I hope Google has more things like it in store for the Google Pixel 10 series later this year.

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Google Pixel 9

Powerful Gemini AI tools
Excellent build quality, refined design
Extensive update policy

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Google Pixel 9 Pro

Impressive AI-powered features
Excellent build quality
Flexible, capable cameras
Reliable update commitment

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Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

The best specs in the Pixel 9 series
Gorgeous display
Seven years of software updates