Rita El Khoury / Android AuthorityThe Pixel’s thermometer is one of those features that doesn’t come with a clear job description.It’s not like a camera or a fingerprint reader, where you instantly know why it’s part of your device.It sits on the back of the phone with no single, obvious purpose, which might explain why many Pixel owners forget it’s even there.But, as it turns out, lots of others are using it in all sorts of ways.
A recent Reddit thread asking how the thermometer “contributes to your life” spiralled into an interesting catalogue of real-world uses, from checking toddler fevers to proving a hotel room’s AC was broken.That thread sparked our curiosity, with my colleague Rita using the Pixel 10 Pro XL to track down potential insulation problems at home.She also asked you how you tend to use the thermometer in an article poll, and it turns out this supposedly gimmicky feature is surprisingly helpful.
We’ve compiled a diverse range of uses here.A feature that divides the internetDhruv Bhutani / Android AuthorityIn the aforementioned Reddit thread, the responses fell into two broad camps.The first looked to be the larger one: people who simply don’t use it.
Some didn’t know the feature existed, others weren’t interested and quickly forgot about it, while a few wished Google had used the hardware space for something else entirely, like an IR blaster or a LiDAR sensor.It’s clear the thermometer isn’t a part of the Pixel experience for many owners.The second camp had a very different relationship with it.Parents were especially vocal.
They talked about using the phone to do quick fever checks, especially when a child is asleep or when the household thermometer has gone missing.It also came up for all the smaller parenting moments, such as getting bath water right, checking bottles, or making sure a hot drink won’t burn a small tongue.People used the Pixel to gather evidence when a hotel room’s air conditioner wasn’t working properly.The kitchen crowd was right behind them.
People said they check the surface temperature of cast-iron pans, flat-top grills, freshly poured coffee, reheated leftovers, and anything else that looked a bit hot.One Redditor even said the thermometer appears regularly in their French fry review videos, which was not on our bingo card.Homeowners like Rita also chipped in, scanning walls and window frames for cold spots, comparing different rooms, or verifying that a charger or appliance isn’t running hotter than it should.A couple of people even used the Pixel to gather evidence when a hotel room’s air conditioner wasn’t working properly.
Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority? Set us as a favorite source in Google Discover to never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more.You can also set us as a preferred source in Google Search by clicking the button below.If you had an app that could only be used in one of these ways, you’d think it was extremely niche, but we’re actually finding out that the thermometer is one of the more versatile features of Pixel phones.
For the people who do use it, it solves problems they never expected their device to handle.It’s worth a tryRita El Khoury / Android AuthorityOne of the more practical ideas on Reddit was using the Pixel to scan walls and windows for cold spots, which ultimately inspired Rita’s test.She had just moved into a new house with big glass doors and wasn’t convinced they were keeping the heat in as well as they should.
Instead of buying sensors or a thermal camera, she opened the Thermometer app and did a quick sweep around the frames and blinds.It turned out to be exactly the kind of check she needed.Nothing too complicated, but just enough information to confirm the house wasn’t leaking too much heat and that some of her assumptions were right.We were curious about how other Pixel owners were using this feature, and in what numbers.
Rita added a poll to her article to gauge the percentage of readers who actually use it for various purposes.Let’s have a look at the results from over 3500 survey respondents.What do you use the Pixel thermometer for? As the chart of the results above shows, just over 40% of our readers don’t use the Pixel thermometer at all, either because they choose not to (20%) or didn’t realize they had one (22%).
While it might be a surprise that over half of the respondents are using the feature, we have to take self-selection bias into account — these are people reading an article about the Pixel thermometer who voted, after all.Among the tool’s fans, the most common use appears to be measuring body temperature when they or someone else is ill, with nearly 29% choosing this option.It’s also worth noting that almost 9% of people said they used it for several of the options, which likely includes body temperature checks.What we can certainly take away from these results is the conclusion we started with: The thermometer has no one clear purpose, and that’s ultimately a good thing.It’s a versatile tool used by many Pixel users in various ways.
The thermometer has no one clear purpose, and that's ultimately a good thing.A few comments under Rita’s article added some helpful colour to why people voted the way they did.One reader said they walked around their attic while pointing the Pixel at the ceiling and immediately spotted inconsistent insulation.Like Rita’s experiment, it’s not the most glamorous use, but the sort of job where a quick temperature check is all you really need.Another person mentioned using it to nail the perfect bath temperature, a suggestion that also appeared on Reddit.
It’s one of those small routines where having a thermometer on hand saves a bit of guesswork and is much less risky since flagship phones have become water-resistant.And then there was the reminder that this feature gets more useful the moment kids enter the picture.One commenter said the sensor becomes surprisingly handy during the years when children seem to trade colds like they’re collectibles, which lines up with the number of parents in the Reddit thread who rely on it for quick, no-fuss fever checks.We don’t get bored of hearing about novel ways you’ve chosen to add the thermometer to your life, so feel free to comment below if you want to tell us! FeaturesGoogle PixelFollowThank you for being part of our community.Read our Comment Policy before posting.
