What is the Pixel Thermometer for? Here’s how thousands of people actually use it

But it turns out that many others use it in all kinds of ways. A recent one Reddit thread The question of how the thermometer “contributes to your life” grew into an interesting catalog of real-world applications, from controlling toddler fever to proving that a hotel room’s air conditioner was broken. That thread piqued our curiosity, with my colleague Rita using the Pixel 10 Pro XL to track down possible insulation problems at home. She also asked you how you typically use the thermometer in an article survey, and it turns out that this supposedly gimmicky feature is surprisingly useful. We have collected a wide range of applications here.

In the aforementioned Reddit thread, responses fell into two broad camps. The first seemed to be the bigger 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 completely different, like an IR blaster or a LiDAR sensor. Clearly, the thermometer won’t be 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 the household thermometer is lost. It also came up for all the smaller parenting moments, like getting the right bathwater, checking bottles, or making sure a hot drink doesn’t burn a little tongue.

The kitchen crowd was right behind them. People said they were checking the surface temperatures of cast iron pans, flat top grills, freshly poured coffee, reheated leftovers and anything else that looked a little hot. One Redditor even mentioned that the thermometer makes a regular appearance in their chip review videos, which wasn’t on our bingo card.

Homeowners like Rita have also done their part by scanning walls and window frames for cold spots, comparing different rooms or checking to make sure a charger or device isn’t running hotter than it should. A few people even used the Pixel to collect evidence when a hotel room air conditioner malfunctioned.

One 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 large glass doors and wasn’t convinced they were keeping the heat in as well as possible. Instead of buying sensors or a thermal camera, she opened the Thermometer app and quickly went through the window frames and blinds.

It turned out to be exactly the kind of check she needed. Nothing too complicated, but just enough information to confirm that the house wasn’t leaking too much heat and that some of her assumptions were correct.

What do you use the Pixel thermometer for?

As the results chart 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 may come as a surprise that more than half of respondents use the feature, we have to take self-selection into account. After all, these are the people who read an article about the Pixel Thermometer and voted.

Among the tool’s fans, the most common use seems to be measuring body temperature when they or someone else is sick, with almost 29% choosing this option. It’s also worth noting that almost 9% of people said they used it for a variety of options, likely including body temperature checks.

What we can certainly deduce from these results is the conclusion we started with: the thermometer does not have one clear purpose, and that is ultimately a good thing. It is a versatile tool that many Pixel users use in different ways.

A few comments below Rita’s article added some useful color to why people voted the way they did. One reader said they walked through their attic pointing the Pixel at the ceiling and immediately noticed inconsistent insulation. Like Rita’s experiment, this isn’t the most glamorous use, but the kind of job where a quick temperature check is all you really need.

Another person said he used it to determine the perfect bath temperature, a suggestion that also appeared on Reddit. It’s one of those little routines where having a thermometer handy saves a little guesswork and is much less risky as flagship phones have become water resistant.

And then there was the reminder that this feature becomes more useful once children enter the picture. One commenter said the sensor becomes surprisingly useful in the years when kids seem to trade colds like they’re collectibles, matching the number of parents in the Reddit thread who rely on it for quick, hassle-free fever checks.

We don’t get bored of hearing about the new ways you’ve chosen to add the thermometer to your life, so feel free to leave a comment below if you want to tell us!