The Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro landed a few days ago, and it brings some big upgrades, including the new Tensor G3 chipset, new AI photography features, and more. Watching the event, when Google revealed that there was a temperature sensor baked into the camera module of the Pixel 8 Pro, I couldn't help but say "Why?" I mean, I get the idea of a temperature sensor being cool and all, but is it even useful in 2023? Most importantly, is it just a gimmick or actually a sensor that works reliably? To find the answer to these questions and more, I tested the new temperature sensor on the Pixel 8 Pro.

First of all, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is the only device to have the all-new temperature sensor. The non-Pro variant misses out on this. When I first got the review unit, the sensor was just a dud because the phone didn't come with a dedicated app to use it out of the box.

It wasn't until very recently that the Pixel Thermometer app (free) was listed on the Play Store with just a 4.55MB file size. I installed it as soon as I found out and annoyed the heck out of everyone, pointing my camera at them and taking the temperature of everything in sight. I looked like an absolute lunatic. By the way, you need to place the phone within 5 cm or 2 inches of the surface you are measuring for "best results".

As for the Pixel Thermometer app, there are 11 different material options that you can choose from. This also includes a default mode that you can use if you don't want to think too much about having to manually select a material. Once you've selected the mode, all you have to do is point to a surface, press the "Tap to measure" button, and the sensor will instantly give you a reading.