Last March the Google Fit team introduced a heart rate and respiratory rate monitoring system that uses the camera of Google Pixel smartphones and now the Google Pixel 6 series models are getting this functionality in early access mode.
At the time of launch, the new smartphones of the Mountain View giant could not count on camera-based tracking, a feature that has been activated in the past few hours only on some models in early access mode and the Google team warns that respiratory rate monitoring and heart rate measurement using only the phone is in the process of being set up and may be removed.
Probably the Mountain View giant is not sure if this feature can be adequately supported by Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro and this is because the two devices have the main camera and the flash too far from each other (they are at opposite ends), very much more than previous generations.
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In practice, due to the distance between these two components, the flash may not be able to illuminate the fingers sufficiently to allow the system to measure the heart rate through the camera by sensing the small changes in color.
The 9to5Google staff tested this feature, finding that in a well-lit environment, the new Google smartphones are able to guarantee results similar to those of a Fitbit tracker or a Google Pixel 5 while in a dark room there is a difference of about 30 beats per minute.
It seems that this functionality in early access still has an interface that is not particularly optimized and with some small bugs. Probably within a few weeks, if the tests give the desired results, the monitoring of heart and respiratory rates through the camera will be implemented for all users.