Google Pixel 6 Pro under-screen fingerprint possibly spotted – and most of Twitter saw

Hiroshi Lockheimer shares image seemingly from Pixel 6 Pro

Google Pixel
(Image credit: Google)

Fans of the Google Pixel series of phones may have just been offered another glimpse of the Google Pixel 6 Pro – even if was thanks to a since-deleted tweet from Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s SVP of Android.

Though short on some specifics still, the Google Pixel 6 Pro is set to be the bigger brother of the Google Pixel 6, with both devices set to push the envelope of the 'Pixel' offering, pitting itself amongst a crowded flagship market that offer the very best smartphones available.

The tweet, which was posted and then quickly deleted, is a screenshot of Lockheimer's mobile wallpaper with Material You styling on the lockscreen. Lockheimer posted the snap of his lockscreen to illustrate Android 12’s Material You revamp, exhibiting how it lets devices elegantly adopt the hue of, say, your current background image. In the picture below, you can see that the hue perfectly matches a photo of an airplane’s engine, taken from Lockheimer's personal picture gallery.

However, the plot thickens. Courtesy of savvy detective work from Mishaal Rahman of XDA Developers, he noticed that the resolution of the picture matches the 1440p resolution predicted to be arriving with the Google Pixel 6 Pro.

Interestingly, the esteemed 9to5Google tipsters point out the presence of a fingerprint symbol pictured on-screen just below the clock on the Android 12 lockscreen, which they say "almost certainly indicates a device with an under-display fingerprint sensor." The under-screen fingerprint reader is a feature that's been hotly-tipped for the Google Pixel 6 Pro. 

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Be that as it may, it doesn't necessarily mean it's Google's new Pixel device. This is because a range of other devices, including the OnePlus 9 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, and Oppo Find X3 Pro all have similar specs and an Android 12 Beta build available, according to 9to5Google

The reasoning behind the lightning-fast removal of the tweet will no doubt remain a mystery. The unintentional unveiling of the in-screen fingerprint reader doesn’t seem like a viable reason, since The Verge has already confirmed this with Google. With the company eyeing up a fall release for the Google Pixel 6 Pro, we shouldn’t have to wait too long to put an end to the mounting speculation. For now, you can check out our best Android Phones to fill the void while we wait for the Pixel unveil.

Luke Wilson

Luke is a former news writer at T3 who covered all things tech at T3. Disc golf enthusiast, keen jogger, and fond of all things outdoors (when not indoors messing around with gadgets), Luke wrote about a wide-array of subjects for T3.com, including Android Auto, WhatsApp, Sky, Virgin Media, Amazon Kindle, Windows 11, Chromebooks, iPhones and much more, too.