Pixel phones will soon be able to measure breathing and heart rate through the smartphone's camera; following the decision to acquire Fitbit, Google announced an upgrade to Google Fit next month.

These camera-based vital measurements will give people who don't own Fitbit or other Wear OS smartwatches a way to regularly check their health data at home. With this update, the Pixel's front-facing camera combines AI with chest movement patterns to provide breathing readings that Google says are accurate to within one breath per minute.

The rear camera, meanwhile, will be able to recognize subtle changes in skin color when a fingertip is held up to the lens and read the pulse rate. According to Google, this algorithm is accurate to within 2% according to the company's tests.

It is important to note here that the Google Fit team tested these features on a wide range of skin tones. In the past, Google's biometric scanners have suffered from racial bias, so it is encouraging that the team collected diverse data for its vital measurement algorithm.

Users can take measurements with the Google Fit app; the UI describes your phone's location so that you are properly framed. As for privacy, records are not stored anywhere. Only the final measurements are added to the Google Fit dashboard.

These measurements are not intended as an alternative to visiting your doctor or other FDA-approved health tools you normally use. You are encouraged to monitor your readings so that you know how to identify irregular readings and seek medical assistance if needed.

Google is not the only company using smartphone cameras to measure health. Amazon's Halo activity meter and wellness services obtain BMI readings through the front-facing camera on the phone. However, one must own a physical Amazon Halo band to take advantage of this feature.

The advantage of the Halo Band, or any other best fitness tracker or best smartwatch, is the continuous measurement of specific vitals; measuring heart rate and breathing rate through the Pixel camera would require manual testing.

If you want to learn more about your body and overall wellness, wearables have more features than smartphones. That said, this Google Fit upgrade provides a familiar alternative for people who can't afford or don't want a wrist-worn device to check their vitals.

This new feature will make the Pixel's already great camera even more capable next month. Google is working on bringing these new Google Fit tools to off-brand smartphone apps as well. So one question remains: will these camera-based vitals bring us closer to the Google Pixel Watch?