Google Pixel phones will soon follow the heartbeat using only the camera

Google’s latest Pixel exclusive feature is the ability to track your heart rate and breathing rate without additional hardware. The company says that Google Fit on Pixel phones will follow these health statistics from next month with only the existing cameras of the devices.

We’ve seen heart rate tracking on smartphones before thanks to Samsung’s Galaxy line. From the Galaxy S5 to the Galaxy S10, Samsung tracked the heartbeat through a physical photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor on the back of the phone. Users can simply press a finger against the sensor and get a heart reading within seconds.

The Pixel phones do not have a PPG, but Google’s solution is not completely different. A PPG shines a light (usually a green LED) into your skin, which is reflected by your bloodstream to a nearby photoreceptor. It’s basically a specialized camera. Google’s Pixel solution uses only the actual camera. Google says, “To measure your heart rate, simply place your finger on the rear-facing camera lens.”

The calculation of the breathing rate uses the front camera. Google’s instructions (shown in the gallery above) say to turn on the phone against something, turn on the selfie camera, and as long as your head and torso are visible, you can get heart rate and breathing rate reading.

Our takeaway from the earlier Samsung smartphones was that heart rate tracking is best left to smartwatches and fitness trackers. Carriers can be in constant contact with your arm and can passively follow your heartbeat while exercising or performing your day. The phone-based solution requires you to stop what you are doing, open an app, press your finger on a sensor and be silent for a few seconds while it is being measured. On Samsung phones, it was a hassle and certainly not something you want to do in the middle of a workout. Eventually, Samsung also gave up the feature by cutting off the PPG sensor from the Galaxy S20, and no one really missed it. The feature makes a little more sense if it’s’ free and does not require any special hardware, but we still just want to install a fitness tracker, especially if you can get a good 24/7 PPG tracker for $ 30.

Google says both of these features follow “small physical signals at the pixel level – such as chest movements to measure your breathing rate and subtle changes in the color of your fingers for your heartbeat.” Google told The Verge that the heart rate sensor is within 2 percent accurate. The company does not have FDA approval for any of these new features, so it is only ‘general well-being’ and a medical diagnosis or medical conditions cannot be relied upon.