The Pixel 8 Pro’s appearance might already be recorded in photographs thanks to the internal data, but the whole technical information is still inaccessible. Questions are raised, in particular, by a new circular cutout in the camera bar. What recent sensor is Google putting in place here?
One might read about LiDAR, a laser technology that is included into the iPhone Pro models and is optically comparable to it, over and over again. But, there are historical factors that may prevent LiDAR from debuting in a Pixel phone first.
The new sensor, a round black cutout on the camera bar just beneath the flash LED, is also plainly apparent in the image below.
LiDAR advances augmented reality on smartphones
Not precisely the first manufacturer to use a new technology is Google. It is always the various Chinese manufacturers’ turn in this area. It is improbable that Google, of all Android OEMs, will be the first to integrate LiDAR into their handsets for this reason alone.
Are there any actual threads for this idea of LIDAR on the Pixel 8 Pro? If there was some non-Apple-exclusive supplier out there shipping LIDAR for phones, I feel like we would have seen a Chinese OEM jump on that first.
— Ron Amadeo (@RonAmadeo) March 15, 2023
Google, on the other hand, could have rethought its own strategy in recent years. You need to stay on top of the excitement, acknowledge the quick increase in popularity of pixel phones, and persuade new models to buy your product with their fascinating features. In the Pixel 8 Pro, there are reasons in favour of and against LiDARD.