Google is progressing quickly to reach the same level as Apple when it comes to locating lost devices. We learned this week that the firm would be working to keep its Pixel smartphones locatable even when they are turned off.
How long before Google Pixels can offer exactly the same location features as iPhones? Probably not much longer. According to 91mobiles and leaker Kuba Wojciechowski, Google is working to allow its smartphones to remain locatable even when they are turned off. A function already available on the iPhone, but which is currently still lacking in the devices of the Mountain View giant… which has nevertheless progressed in this field for a few months.
Like the iPhone, iPad, Mac and AirTags, Google for example announced in December 2022 the deployment of a network function “Locate», allowing to find Android phones, lost or stolen, even without an internet connection. Allowing pixels to be located even when they are turned off would therefore be one more step to match the competition.
Will the Google Pixel soon be locatable even when turned off?
In this case, this function would be called “Pixel Power-off Finder“, at least on Pixel smartphones. According to Kuba Wojciechowski, Google would also seek to create a gigantic network of all Android devices to precisely locate a lost or stolen smartphone. This XXL network would also support UWB (ultra-wide band) devices, including Google’s future location beacons, currently codenamed “Groguand which we were telling you about in January.
? Leak: Google is working on a device-finding feature for future Pixel phones that works even when the phone is turned off, akin to iPhones. More details: https://t.co/LkdexHCi0G
— Kuba Wojciechowski:3 (@Za_Raczke) April 6, 2023
Finally, it seems that Google is adding lines of code relating to this function on Android 14, which should, as a reminder, materialize at the start of the school year.
This novelty would work more or less as its counterpart on the iPhone: by keeping the Bluetooth chip of the smartphones concerned activated, including when they are off. Note that this will require a compatible Bluetooth chip. We don’t know if the Pixel 6 and 7 are equipped with it, but it’s a safe bet that it will be the case for the future Pixel 8.
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