Google’s Soli powered ‘Motion Sense’ feature won’t work everywhere, but will in Australia

Earlier this year, Google took the surprise step of heading off leaks and showing off the Pixel 4, then talking about upcoming features like Motion Sense. A leak today has confirmed that Motion Sense will be limited in availability, but we’ll be able to experience it in Australia.

Earlier today, XDA-Developers discovered that US retailer Best Buy published, then quickly updated, a Pixel 4 coming soon landing page which specifically mentioned which countries Motion Sense would be available in.

The fine print advises that Motion Sense would only work in ‘the US, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, and most European countries‘. Specifically calling out Japan as a country it would not be available in.

Motion Sense will use a hands-free sensor called ‘Soli’ built into the Pixel 4 which will track hand movements above your phone, allowing you to ‘skip songs, snooze alarms, and silence phone calls, just by waving your hand’.

Google’s Soli Radar chip operates on the 60GHz (58-63.5GHz) band, something confirmed earlier this week when the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL passed through the US Federal Communications Commission for wireless certification.

Why some countries will not have access to Motion Sense is likely due to the frequency used, with most countries tightly controlling the licensing for wireless spectrum within their borders.

The Pixel 4 will launch later this year, likely in early October at the annual ‘Made by Google’ event. With Australia called out as a compatible country we can take that as confirmation we’ll be seeing the Pixel 4 here very soon.