The Google Pixel 5 and its triple rear photo module.
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CHRISTOPHE SEFRIN / 20 MINUTES
The Google Fit app will offer a new feature starting in March to measure heart rate and breathing rate.
The program will use the smartphone's camera for this, the company explained on its blog this Thursday, relayed by 01Net.
The tool will initially be available on Pixel phones but will arrive later on other devices running Android.
"With constant innovations in hardware and software, sometimes the device most important to your health and well-being is already in your pocket," said Shwetak Patel, director of applied health technologies at Google.
To assess his heart rate, the user will just have to place his finger on the lens of the rear camera of his phone.
It is possible to save the data on the app
The specialist explained that the system had been designed to take into account the physiological specificities of a maximum of users, such as their age or the color of their skin.
The measurement of the respiratory rate will be done via the camera located on the front of the smartphone.
You have to activate it and position yourself so that the framing reveals the face and upper torso.
The data thus collected can be saved in the app and viewed in conjunction with other information already stored by the program.
Google nevertheless recalls that the measurements taken by the smartphone do not have the value of a medical diagnosis.
The digital giant said it hopes the data "will prove useful to people who use Google Fit to track and improve their daily well-being."
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