Google has released an update to a limited number of Pixel 6 series devices, bringing the heart rate and respiratory tracking feature to the Google Fit app.
This feature which is present in Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a since march is now being tested for the Pixel 6 series in a limited release.
As the Pixel 6 series does not have dedicated sensors for measuring heart rate and respiratory rate, the feature works using the phone’s cameras. Checking your heart rate with this feature is as simple as placing your finger on the rear camera and waiting a few seconds as the app detects changes in the color of your finger and produces a reading that can be saved to your google fit account.
The process is pretty simple, with on-screen guides correcting you if you place your finger in the wrong place or a pop-up advising you to move to a place with better lighting if you are in a poorly lit environment.
The delayed inclusion of this feature in the Pixel 6 series can be accredited to the new style in which the camera module is set up, placing the primary lens and flash pretty far apart. This design causes a problem, as the feature also utilized the LED flash in the previous generations to take a more accurate reading in low-light environments.
On the other hand, the respiratory tracking feature works by propping up your device with the front camera facing your upper torso to record your chest movements when you breathe.
It was also observed by 9to5Google that “This early access capability is not particularly optimized, with an old Pixel 5-era graphic appears and mentions of being able to turn on the flash in error dialogs.”
It is still too early to tell if this feature will remain in the Pixel 6 as Google warns that tracking your respiratory rate and measuring heart rate “using just your phone” is “being fine-tuned and may be removed.”
You can check out if you got this feature in your Google Fit by seeing if two cards have appeared at the bottom of the Home tab or in Browse > Vitals.
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