Pixel 7: A really stupid problem with contactless payments annoys users

It is important not to be misunderstood, but Google has created a problem with the operation of the Pixel 7 smartphone with Pixel Face Unlock. There are increasing complaints as more and more people are now using their devices in daily life.

Just yesterday we published an article about the Pixel Face Unlock issue. The main issue was that the Pixel 7 phone variant has insufficient security clearance. This can cause complications in daily life. Most users face this when they want to make contactless payments.

Google’s solution works like this: face unlock and finger unlock wait for input from the user at the same time. Either both functions recognize the user together or one of the two functions exposes the device alone. The issue occurs when only Face Unlock recognizes the user.

Face unlock certainly won’t unlock everything, which is a problem in everyday life

Since this unlocking method can only unlock the display, but not security-related functions such as Google Pay, banking apps or password managers, the Pixel 7 unlocked via Face Unlock alone cannot be used for direct contactless payments.

Face Unlock usually recognizes faces too quickly through the front-facing camera, which is also a drawback. The Pixel 7 often unlocks faster as a result, but Google Pay can’t be used for that reason. I would almost say that the very fast way of doing things is already very fast in some situations.

Recurring problem in daily life: Anyone who wants to make a payment with a phone released with Face Unlock cannot do so. The phone needs to be locked again and unlocked with your finger.

Finger will not be requested again by Google Pay

Google now needs to quickly come up with a solution to unlock devices with Face Unlock and then directly ask for the finger again when attempting a contactless payment. Currently, payment attempts are simply discarded, which is extremely annoying.