Google’s ‘Project Toscana’ could bring Face ID to Pixel phones

Google may finally be ready to fix one of the Pixel’s most frustrating flaws.

According to an exclusive report from Android Authority, Google is developing a new advanced facial recognition system internally dubbed "Project Toscana." The feature is reportedly being tested on Pixel phones and Chromebooks, with early testers in Mountain View, California, using prototype devices under various lighting conditions. Per the outlet’s anonymous source, Toscana performed just as quickly as Apple’s Face ID and, crucially, worked reliably in low light.

This would be a meaningful upgrade for Android users. Google has taken multiple swings at face unlock over the years. The Pixel 4 used radar and IR sensors before the company abandoned the approach. More recent Pixels reintroduced camera-based face unlock with improved machine learning, and starting with the Pixel 8, it could authenticate for payments and secure apps — but it still struggles in darker environments.

Android Authority notes this aligns with its previous reporting that Google has been exploring IR-based solutions for future Pixel devices, potentially as soon as the Pixel 11. Whether Toscana ends up with a display hole or sticks with a traditional hole-punch camera remains unclear.

The timing is interesting given the recent launch of the Pixel 10a. As Mashable tech reporter Alex Perry writes, the $499 mid-range device sticks with the Tensor G4 processor and delivers AI feature parity with the Pixel 10, despite the flagship moving to Tensor G5. Hardware changes were modest — a flatter back, improved durability, slightly brighter display — but no dramatic biometric upgrades.

If Project Toscana is real and ready for primetime, it likely won’t debut in the budget-friendly 10a, which arrives March 5. Instead, it could signal that Google is once again trying to build the Android answer to Face ID — and this time, maybe stick with it.