It took a while, but Google has finally fixed the most annoying flaw in the Pixel 4, the one that does not require users to have their eyes open when performing the face unlock process

The latest security patch for Android 10 is now rolling out and adds a "eyes must be open" option to the Pixel 4's face unlock menu As the name implies, this feature means that the user can unlock the phone with their face only if their eyes are open, effectively making the biometric unlock process more secure

The Pixel 4, released in October, had a speedy face unlock system that allowed users to unlock the Pixel 4 or Pixel 4 XL simply by looking at it, through the use of a Soli chip and infrared sensor This worked well enough to compensate to some extent for Google's decision to remove the rather good fingerprint scanner on the back of previous Pixel phones like the Pixel 3a

However, the face unlock system came under fire after it was discovered that holding the Pixel 4 up to a user's face while someone was sleeping would unlock it

Sure, having such a malicious person in the bedroom may be a big enough security issue on its own, but being able to unlock the phone with your eyes closed was deemed a security flaw in the Pixel 4 After all, a nosy partner or friend could exploit this system and use it to secretly view the contents of your photos and messages

Google was a bit slow to include the eye-opening feature, as Apple's iPhone X with Face ID required users to open their eyes and look directly at the phone to unlock it from the moment it was released in 2017

If you downloaded the Andriod 11 beta, the eye opening option is available from the Developer Preview 2 update However, if you stick with the full Android release, you can expect the option to appear in the latest update from Google

The update also brings other tweaks to the Pixel 4, specifically addressing a memory leak that blocks additional Bluetooth Low Energy connections, Bluetooth audio input chopping on some calls, and lag when opening the keyboard in some apps

These tweaks have been addressed

These tweaks do not dramatically change the experience on the Pixel 4, but they do help make it more secure and stable