For two months in a row, Google’s monthly security patch for Pixels hasarrived late. This software usuallydrops on the first Monday of every month, but with how poor the company’s track record has been recently — even makingPixel 6 users wait anadditionalweekon top of the delay — it no longer feels like a sure bet. After a week-long delay, Google is rolling out the April 2023 patch to supported Pixel devices — that is, Pixel 4a and later — but it’s the continuation of a worrying trend for the company’s hardware.
We already spotted the Security Bulletin last week, but today, we’re getting the usual list ofpatch notesand fixes that you’ll actually notice in your day-to-day life. Considering the delay, we aren’t seeing much new this month. In addition to a vague “instability” fix when using USB accessories on Tensor-powered phones,Pixel 7 Prousers are getting improvements to Macro mode’s autofocus, while all devices get a fix for Bluetooth devices randomly unpairing without warning. Here’s the complete list of patch notes, which is really just those three things in a different order (seriously, it’s a weak month):
*[1] Included on Pixel 7 Pro
*[2] Included on Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro
Factory imagesandOTA filesare up on Google’s website right now, with dedicated builds for T-Mobile variants and their associated MVNOs. As always, the update should be rolling out to support phones momentarily. With any luck, Google can get it together for the May update, which is set to arrive just ten days beforeI/O kicks off in Mountain View.
The next bigger update will reach us in the form of the June Pixel Feature Drop, which will add a handful of new capabilities to Pixel phones before we will get the official release ofAndroid 14later in the fall. Both the Pixel Feature Drop and Android 14 are currently in public preview testing, and you can easilyinstall the beta and the developer preview on your phone.
