The Pixel 6a isn’t even a day old and it’s getting its first security patch update
It’sGoogle Pixel 6alaunch day, with “pre-order” changing to “buy” at most retailers, marking the formal availability of the new phone. It’s only hours old, but already Google is giving its smartphone baby some extra update attention in the form of a day-one update. The phone shipped with April security patches, and this new update, rolling out over the next few weeks in “phases,” will bump things to June.
The news was announced to the Pixel Phone Help forums, but you may not see it if you’re tapping that “check for update” button on your own brand new Pixel 6a just yet. Google wasn’t kidding when it said it was going to roll out in phases, and thedownloadable imagesfor the update indicate that it may only be available for Verizon, Verizon MVNOs, and Japanese carriers. More anecdotally, checking updates on my own review unit, I don’t have it (but I’m on T-Mobile).
Software versions
Global (Unlocked)
AT&T, T-Mobile
Updates noted as available on Google’s download page I have marked in bold.
The update will likely roll out for others over the course of Google’s provided schedule, happening “over the next week in phases, depending on carrier networks.” Some carriers can take longer to certify updates than others, but the wait shouldn’t be too long.
This first update includes a bump in the security patch level according to the information associated with the downloads. Although we’re at the end of July and about to begin the month of August (with August-based security patches expected to start rolling out as early as next week), this day-one update only brings the phone from an April 2022 patch level to June 2022.
While this might seem like an unusual delay, it can sometimes take Google some time to deliver these first few updates. The Pixel 4a, for example, jumped straight from May patches to August in 2020. I anticipate we’ll see the Pixel 6a hit the current patch level within the next month or two, and almost assuredly by the time the Android 13 update lands — I’m guessing that will happen next month, but we’ll see.
There aren’t any functional patch notes in the documentation for this update. That doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t any other changes; it just means they haven’t been described if they’re there. But I expect we’ll see some device-specific bug fixes mentioned by the time the next update comes around.
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