The Pixel 11 Pro officially says goodbye to the thermometer after three generations

The Pixel 8 Pro debuted a thermometer or temperature sensor back in 2023. This rear-facing sensor allowed you to (surprise) measure the temperature of objects and eventually people. However, the Pixel 11 Pro phones all offer the so-called HiLight feature in the camera bar, so what does this mean for the temperature sensor?

Google has confirmed to Android Authority that none of the Pixel 11 series devices have a thermometer:

Pixel 11 series does not feature a temperature sensor. Every year we work to progress our Pixel offering so it’s helpful to as many people as possible. Pixel’s temperature sensor provided peace of mind that you could get a reading on the go. And now, HiLight will provide the peace of mind that you’re not missing an important notification — while also giving you a visual signal when you’re actively speaking to Gemini.

It’s not a complete surprise to hear that the temperature sensor is gone. The first leaked Pixel 11 Pro series renders revealed a redesigned camera bar that didn’t seem to contain a thermometer. Then, subsequent leaks revealed that some of the phones have a so-called HiLight notification LED in the camera housing. So it seemed inevitable that Google would have to ditch the temperature sensor to make way for the LED.

Either way, it’s clear that Google thinks HiLight might be more practical for most users than the thermometer. However, HiLight seems to pale in comparison to notification LEDs seen on older smartphones. Older phones offered a front-facing LED that could deliver color-coded notifications based on the app (e.g. green for WhatsApp, white for a text message). Meanwhile, HiLight requires you to place the phone face down and only works with Gemini and phone calls for now. But Google says it’s working on message integration too, giving us hope that its LED solution will become more useful over time.