Google is bringing back facial recognition with the Pixel 6. And a large screen Pixel 6 XL may be on the way...

The news comes from XDA's Mishaal Rahman on Twitter, who dug into the recent Android 12 OS Developer Preview configuration and found signs pointing to Google diversifying the ways to unlock phones

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The code makes direct reference to how to "securely unlock your phone with your face and fingerprint." In other words, it seems plausible that Google plans to support face recognition in the Pixel 6 as well as a fingerprint sensor under the display.

Google has included facial recognition in its phones before: the Pixel 4 offered the ability to unlock the phone by simply glancing at it, but the Pixel 5 did not have this technology. However, the Pixel 5 did not include this technology. Now that it is expected to be included in the flagship model, it makes sense for Google to include this feature again.

The Pixel 5 can be unlocked with a fingerprint, but the sensor is located on the back and felt quite outdated even at launch; the Pixel 6's upgrade to a more modern, under-display fingerprint sensor would be a much welcomed change. [Information on these additional authentication options is not the only one gleaned from the Android 12 Developer Preview.

Mishaal Rahman also revealed that the system settings UI has been adjusted for one-handed use by enabling the "Silky home" feature. This is thanks to important elements such as buttons, toggles, and checkboxes being much closer to the bottom of the screen.

This UI setup is similar to Samsung's One UI. This is important because such a UI is most commonly used on phones with larger screens. Taken together, this information strongly suggests that the Pixel 6 XL may be on the way.

Previously, each generation of Pixel was released in either a standard or XL version, with the Pixel 5 having only one 6-inch model; while renderings of the Pixel 5 XL did come to fruition, the device itself did not.

However, alongside the UI tweaks above, two internal codenames have been leaked: Raven and Oriole. These are believed to be related to the Pixel 6, and it would not be surprising if one of them turns out to be the Pixel 6 XL.

There is certainly growing evidence to suggest that the Pixel 6 XL will be part of Google's next flagship smartphone lineup.

With all these rumors and theories flying around about the next model in Google's Pixel series, we've compiled what we know about the Google Pixel 6 into a handy guide ahead of the expected release date.