I’m glad the Pixel 11 Pro may finally kill the temperature sensor

Similar to the Pixel 11, the biggest design change with the Pro model is the redesigned camera bar, with Google removing the two-tone look from the 10 Pro and replacing it with black glass spanning the entire space. However, there’s another change that’s bound to be more controversial: the removal of the temperature sensor.

After three generations of Pixel Pro phones featuring a built-in temperature sensor, the Pixel 11 Pro may finally remove it. And while I know the sensor has its fans, I’m happy to see it go away.

When I first got my hands on the Pixel 8 Pro in 2023 — Google’s first phone with a temperature sensor — I was excited to use it. The feature sounded so bizarre and so out of left field, and the tech nerd in me was giddy to see what it could do. We’re always asking tech companies to try something new with smartphones, and Google did precisely that with the Pixel 8 Pro’s temperature sensor.

However, it didn’t take long to realize that the feature left a lot to be desired.

It’s not just that the Pixel 8 Pro’s temperature sensor wasn’t accurate, but its whole implementation just felt like an afterthought. The initial app for the sensor was barebones, and using the sensor was often wonky, requiring multiple tries to get a correct scan (at least in my experience).

The addition of body temperature measurements in 2024 was a nice touch, but trying to get those measurements with the cumbersome way Google asked you to move your Pixel around your head was far too easy to mess up. And even if you got the hang of it, there was still the concern of inaccurate readings — something you don’t want to mess with if you’re trying to diagnose a fever or another medical issue.

Because of these things, I never found a legitimate use case for it. Sure, I could use my Pixel to take temperature readings of myself and inanimate objects around me, but why would I want to? Google slapped on the temperature sensor without a good reason for why you should care, and I think that sloppy implementation really hurt its chances.

My colleague Rita found a clever use for the Pixel’s temperature sensor, checking temperatures in her new house to identify drafty areas and walls. As a new homeowner myself, I’d much sooner buy a $20 temperature gun on Amazon for something that’s easier to use and more accurate.

The same goes for checking my or my partner’s body temperature when either of us is feeling sick. Despite having the Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro over the last few years, I have never once reached for my phone to take our temperatures. Grabbing the thermometer out of our medicine bag takes all of two seconds, and I trust the readings from that more than my Pixel.

Is this my fault for forgetting the temperature sensor is on my phone? An issue with me not trusting it? Or does the blame rest on Google for not putting in the work to ensure the temperature sensor is so good that there’s no way you could ignore it? I’m inclined to say it’s that last one.

I was curious to see what Google would do to evolve the temperature sensor and make it a staple of the Pixel experience, but that never really happened. It stuck around on the Pixel 9 Pro without so much as a mention of it from Google. The same happened with the Pixel 10 Pro last year. The temperature sensor was still there, but Google wasn’t in a hurry to talk about it.

Having now seen the Pixel 11 Pro renders with no temperature sensor in sight, it makes sense why Google has been pretending the feature doesn’t exist.

I don’t doubt there will be some Pixel fans mourning the loss of the temperature sensor, but I won’t be one of them. Maybe there’s a world out there where the feature was more successful and a real reason to buy a Pixel, but the writing has been on the wall for a while that that would never be the case. And I think that’s fine.

Goodbye, temperature sensor, and rest in peace.