Pixel 4 Motion Sense Gestures Might Work In Some Countries Only

Google's next Pixel is just a few weeks away but there's almost nothing left to surprise the crowd thanks to an endless stream of leaks. Actually, there is still room for the final details of features and availability and it might not all be good news for Pixel fans. According to yet another leak, the Pixel 4's already confirmed Motion Sense gesture control won't only be limited to a few apps as already expected but also limited in countries where it will work.

That's a rather strange notion for what is supposed to be a major feature of a phone. Consumers may be used by now with some countries not getting certain models or some apps not being available in certain markets. But aside from Sony's fingerprint scanner on older Xperia phones, most phones have all the advertised features available in all markets.

Google's Project Soli, which powers the Pixel 4's Motion Sense feature, is an odd duck in that case. According to 9to5Google's explanation, the radar technology it uses requires additional permission in countries for it to be enabled. Those permissions take time to get or may not even be granted at all, which is probably why the Pixel 4 won't have that feature available in all countries.

There are only 38 countries listed to have Motion Sense available, including the US and the UK, Canada, France, Germany, and Singapore among others. Notably missing from that list is Japan and even Australia. If the hardware is present, however, some developers might find ways to enable it, not without rooting, of course.

Additionally, Motion Sense won't have full support for all apps out of the box, not even all music players. That exclusive club includes Amazon Music, Deezer, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Spotify Stations, YouTube Music, and YouTube. Its small list of compatible markets and apps will make Motion Sense more of a novelty rather than a major feature that will make the Pixel 4 more interesting.