With the launch of the Android 12 Developer Preview seemingly around the corner, we learned that Pixel phones may get a new face-based option for Auto-Rotate.
On Pixel phones today, as well as Android devices in general, you can rotate your screen orientation to match your device’s orientation. For example, in portrait mode you can browse YouTube and then rotate your device to one side or another to maximize the video.
However, there is an interesting peculiarity with this experience, or perhaps you can regard it as a mismatch between what phones expect and how people behave. Too many of us have the habit of using our phones in bed – despite Google’s efforts to pursue digital well-being. And if you do it while lying on your side, both are your head and your phone will be turned to the side.
With Auto-Rotate as it works today, your phone goes into landscape mode, where you want it to stay in portrait mode for easier reading. With Android Pie, phones got a handy button to turn the screen that appears when your phone is turned to the side and Auto-turn is off. Those who use their phones while lying on their sides are likely to hold out Auto-Rotate and use this button only when they need to turn the screen.
According to information provided by 9to5Google, Android 12 is set to offer an optional version of Auto-turn to Pixel phones. Essentially, your phone will use your camera on the front to see if anyone is looking at the screen, and if so, in what way their head is turned.
The technology behind this is probably a simplified version of the face recognition capability of apps like Snapchat and Google Duo. For obvious privacy reasons, this camera-based check will take place entirely on your device and will not store or send your photo anywhere.
It is possible that this face-based version of Auto-Rotate may start as a broader Android 12 feature, but for now we believe it will be exclusively for Pixel phones, at least in the short term. Alternatively, as has happened in the past with features spotted in newer versions of Android, Auto-Rotate may come face to face as part of a Pixel Feature Drop.
Dylan Roussel contributed to this article
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