My favorite Pixel 11 Pro feature is something no other Android phone can match

I have been enjoying the Pixel 11 Pro for the past month, and there is one feature that stands out to me above all: Face Unlock. Every Google Pixel phone since the Pixel 8 Pro launched three years ago has included this feature, but Google rarely discusses it. Upon using a Pixel phone, I am continually reminded of how exceptional it is.

The Pixel 8 Pro and the base model Pixel 8 came equipped with two biometric unlock options: the in-screen fingerprint sensor and Face Unlock. Contrary to most Android phones that offer only facial recognition, Pixel phones' Face Unlock is more secure due to Google's Tensor chips. While other Android brands offer face unlock, they only unlock the lock screen, not sensitive apps or mobile payments.

Google's Tensor chips enabled this security enhancement three years ago, and the technology has remained largely unchanged. Despite my fondness for fingerprint sensors, the choice between them and Face Unlock is very convenient. The Pixel 11 Pro allows me to choose which method to use depending on the situation. Having this option is something I appreciate every day and cannot find on any other major Android phone in the US.

Google's Face Unlock is one of the many reasons I prefer Pixels over competing Android phones. Although other brands might want to copy Google's Face Unlock approach, they would need to invest significant resources into creating specialized facial recognition hardware. In contrast, Google's Tensor chips make Face Unlock possible with a standard front-facing camera and machine learning models. For me, this trade-off is undoubtedly worth it.