The Google Pixel 8 Pro officially has medical benefits. An update confirmed by the US Food and Drug Administration makes the smartphone a quick test.
The Google Pixel 8 Pro can now detect your body temperature and therefore signs of fever. This will help you know whether you should see a doctor to be on the safe side. (Source: Google / AndrewLozovyi (depositphotos.com), Montage: Netzwelt)
- The Pixel 8 Pro is receiving an update to the Thermometer app in the US.
- You use the infrared sensor to measure your forehead temperature, and the app then tells you whether you have a fever.
- The US Food and Drug Administration confirms the medical benefits.
No, the Google Pixel 8 Pro (fortunately) doesn’t measure your temperature based on the temperature inside your body, but rather based on the temperature on your forehead. The premium smartphone has had the necessary infrared sensor since its release, but it is only now that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed the medical benefits and granted approval for the necessary software.
This comes in the form of an update for the thermometer app on the Google Pixel 8 Pro. It will add the FDA-approved body temperature sensor to the app in January 2024, as Google itself announced in a blog post – at least in the USA.
Take your fever using the Pixel 8 Pro sensor
The feature works like this: You guide your Google Pixel 8 Pro along your forehead with the sensor on the back facing you. The app uses acoustic signals and haptic feedback to inform you whether you are measuring the temperature correctly. The FDA confirms in the corresponding classification document that the measurement result is within the permitted error tolerance limit of plus/minus 0.3 degrees Celsius.
The US authority therefore classifies the Google Pixel 8 Pro as a rapid fever test as reliable as normal clinical thermometers. While you have to hold the latter directly against your forehead to measure, the Google Pixel 8 Pro uses infrared technology and thus avoids skin contact. An advantage because viruses and bacteria on the skin are not spread further thanks to contactless measurement.
It is still unclear whether the Google Pixel 8 Pro will also receive the said body temperature sensor update outside of the USA. Of course, Google would then also have to submit applications for approval to other health authorities if they wanted to advertise the medical aspect internationally. Financially, this certainly shouldn’t be a problem for the US industry giant.
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