Many people were surprised to learn that Google's newest flagships — Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro — didn't come with Face Unlock. There have been multiple reports that Google did originally plan to offer the feature on the Pixel 6 series but scrapped it at the last moment. Late last year, we learned that Google hadn't given up on Face Unlock entirely and that the feature could at least make its way to the Google Pixel 6 Pro via a software update. While we have yet to see that happen, a new report suggests that there's still a glimmer of hope.

XDA Recognized Developer Freak07 has unearthed new evidence that Google is still working on adding Face Unlock on the Pixel 6 series. While digging the new Android 12 QRP3 Beta 1.1 build, they found a new change related to the feature in the PowerHAL config file.

Freak07 notes that Google doesn't generally push device tree changes of developer previews or beta releases to their Git. This suggests the possibility that Google might still be working on Face Unlock, and it could make its way to the Pixel 6 Pro via a future software update. However, whether that turns out to be the case remains to be seen.

Earlier reports revealed that the Face Unlock feature was internally called "Tuscany" and that Google was working on reducing its impact on the battery.

At the time being, the in-display fingerprint scanner remains the only biometric authentication on the Pixel 6 series. We'll keep an eye out and let you know if we learn any new details about the Face Unlock feature.