TL;DR
- Google is likely bringing its True Tone-like “Ambient EQ” feature back to its phones.
- Originally featured on the Pixel 4, it was only ever brought back to the Pixel Tablet.
- The feature has been renamed “Adaptive tone” and is coming to the Pixel 10 series.
The Google Pixel 4 was a revolutionary phone in many ways. Inexplicably, Google introduced so many features with this phone — and then never brought them back after that. From probably the safest face unlock you could get (two whole IR cameras!) to a fricking radar, the Pixel 4 was all around revolutionary.
Another feature that was only present on the Pixel 4 was the Ambient EQ, a feature that dynamically adjusted the display’s white balance based on your environment’s lighting conditions. The feature is really similar to Apple’s True Tone. Unfortunately, it disappeared on the Pixel 5 and only ever came back on the Pixel Tablet.
Thanks to a source inside Google, has learned that Google is likely bringing the feature back to its phones with the upcoming Pixel 10 series.
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The Pixel 10 series is set to bring the feature back to Google’s phones, although under a different name. The feature will likely be called “Adaptive tone,” exactly the same as it is on the Pixel Tablet. Google describes it as “dynamically adapting the display to warmer or cooler tones based on ambient lighting,” which seems identical to the version on the Pixel 4.
The feature is enabled by an upgraded combo ambient light and color sensor, the “ams TMD3743.” The new sensor will likely be present on all (non-foldable) Pixel 10 devices.
It will be interesting to see how well the feature works on the Pixel 10. The old version was criticized for not adjusting the white balance nearly enough, and the Pixel Tablet variation also wasn’t perfect. Hopefully, Google learned from that, and the new version will work better. We’ll find out when the Pixel 10 series finally launches sometime in August.
