Pixel 6 under-display fingerprint scanner may have been leaked by a Google official

Google dealt with leaks by partially unveiling the Pixel 6 series early. The company still left plenty of details under wraps, like its fingerprint scanner placement, but it appears to have been accidentally revealed by a Google executive.

Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s SVP of Platforms & Ecosystems, recently tweeted a photo to showcase Android’s new Material You feature. However, he may have shown his thousands of followers more details than he intended.

Lockheimer has since deleted the photo, but XDA Developers’ Mishaal Rahman has reposted a screenshot of the tweet in question. It has led to speculations that the image Lockheimer shared was likely captured from a Pixel 6 Pro. And the lock screen seemingly confirms reports that the upcoming Google phones will feature an under-display fingerprint scanner.

The addition of an under-display sensor should not be totally surprising at this point. When Made by Google shared several teaser photos for Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, fans may have noticed that both devices did not have any mounted, physical fingerprint reader on the rear or the sides.

Meanwhile, members of XDA Developers have also deduced, based on the deleted tweet, that the Pixel 6 Pro screen most likely has a 1440 x 3200 resolution. This is yet another detail that Google did not announce earlier this month. Meanwhile, the smaller Pixel 6 is expected to ship with a screen resolution of 1140 x 3120. Lockheimer’s photo also shows that the suspected Pixel 6 Pro was connected to Verizon’s 5G network, leading to speculations that the device was using a sub-6GHz connection.

Tech fans have been excited about the Pixel 6 series, especially after Google confirmed that the phones were significantly redesigned. These devices are also going to be the first Pixels to ship with Google’s in-house SoC called Tensor.

Luckily for long-time Pixel fans, it appears that Google did not hold back in adding hardware upgrades to the Pixel 6 series. The Pixel 6 Pro is confirmed to have a triple camera on the rear, including a telephoto sensor with 4x optical zoom. Meanwhile, a recent Android 12 datamine may have also revealed that the phones will use a Samsung 50MP lens for their main cameras.