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The Pixel 4 and iPhone 11 go head-to-head for your face. Sarah Tew/CNET Google’s new Pixel 4 picks up some fascinating new camera features, motion-sensing radar and live transcription, but secure face unlock is the feature you’ll come to know most intimately. With the Pixel 4, Google follows in Apple’s footsteps, doing away with biometric fingerprint scanning and relying on your face to unlock the device. In fact, Google hints that its approach is even faster than Apple’s Face ID feature for iPhone. So I tested it out.But before we get to the good stuff, you should know how face unlock works on the two phones, because they’re slightly different. Both the iPhone (any model X or newer) and Pixel 4 use an infrared sensor to project dots on your facial features that are then used to create a unique depth map of your face. But — and this is important — Google’s approach also hinges on a small chip inside the phone that senses your motion using radar (like picking up the phone) and hands off to the dot projector to do the unlocking work.You can’t unlock the Pixel 4 without the aid of Motion Sense. And you can’t unlock the iPhone without swiping up from the bottom of the screen. In certain situations, both of these checkpoints can slow you down.I tested out which face unlock was easier to set up, and which phone was faster and more convenient to use in four typical scenarios: lifting the phone up to your face, leaning over the phone to unlock it when it’s resting on a table, unlocking the phone when laying down and using it in complete darkness. Here’s what I found out. Now playing: Watch this: Pixel 4 and 4 XL have awesome cameras but high prices 5: 51 The better setup processIt’s equally straightforward to set up face unlock on the Pixel 4 as it is on the iPhone (I used the iPhone 11 Pro). They both gamify the initial face-scanning process, giving you a goal as you slowly turn your head in a circle so the phone can scan all your angles. Clear the blue blocks for Google, complete the circle for Apple.The Pixel 4’s setup process slowed me down with false misses when I apparently wasn’t turning my head correctly. Apple makes you scan your face twice, but it’s quick and painless. All in all, I prefer the iPhone’s method. (Scroll to the end for the full setup process for each.)Setting up face unlock on the Pixel 4. Sarah Tew/CNET The lift-to-unlock method (screen off)Pixel 4 wins this round for pure ease. If you’ve enabled Motion Sense, which is the radar-powered suite of gesture controls built into the phone, then lifting the device to your face also unlocks it by the time you’ve finished picking it up — no swiping necessary. Here’s how it works: A radar-driven sensor detects that you’re reaching for the phone and wakes the screen, prepping the system to scan your face. It
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