The Pixel 8 Pro phone can double as a contactless thermometer in certain scenarios, thanks to its new temperature sensor. It’s the first time Google has put a temperature sensor in a Pixel phone, and it’s one of the key differences that separates the Pixel 8 Pro from the cheaper (and smaller) Pixel 8.

Google announced its new pair of Pixel devices at an event on Oct. 4, alongside the Pixel Watch 2. Both phones launch on Oct. 12, with the Pixel 8 Pro starting at $999 and the Pixel 8 beginning at $699, making them $100 more than last year’s Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7. Along with some new AI-powered photo editing tools, a sharper ultrawide camera and more Google Assistant tricks, the temperature sensor is among the Pixel 8 Pro’s biggest new features. 

You won’t be able to use it to measure body temperature until Google gets approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. But the company is positioning the sensor as being useful for tasks like measuring water temperature while cooking, or seeing how hot your cup of coffee is before taking a sip.

To get started, you open the new Thermometer app on the Pixel 8 Pro. From there, the app prompts you to choose which material you’d like to measure. Current categories include food and organic materials; beverages and water; cast iron; ceramic and glass; matte metal; shiny metal; plastic and rubber; fabric; wood; and walls and windows. 

After selecting your material, the app tells you that to get the best results, position the sensor within two inches of what you’re measuring. (The sensor is located on the back of the phone near the cameras.) Then, all that’s left is to tap the screen to start measuring.

In my brief time with the Pixel 8 Pro before Google’s announcement, I measured the temperatures of a mug of tea and a glass of water. The phone measured each beverage instantly, registering a temperature of 101.9 degrees Fahrenheit for the tea and 42 degrees Fahrenheit for the glass of water. It’s hard to know how accurate it was without comparing the results alongside those of a standard contactless thermometer or a probe thermometer. But the app was certainly responsive and easy to use.

Google isn’t the first company to put a temperature sensor inside a phone, though the feature is uncommon. Chinese smartphone brand Honor launched a phone called the Play 4 Pro in 2020 that it said doubled as a contactless thermometer, as Ars Technica reported at the time. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 from 2013 also has a sensor for measuring temperature and humidity levels in your surroundings.

But the presence of temperature sensors in those phones felt emblematic of the times. Honor’s phone launched during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 arrived just as smartwatches were starting to take off (remember the original Galaxy Gear and Pebble Watch?) and gadget makers were beginning to explore health and wellness technologies more closely, with even Sony joining the fitness band craze in 2014.

By comparison, the Pixel 8 Pro’s temperature sensor feels random, though I’ll have to reserve judgment until I’ve had more time to try it. Regardless, it’s another sign that smartphones are increasingly replacing more everyday objects, from keys to wallets to, now, thermometers.

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