Historically, Pixel security patches are released on the first Monday of the month at 10 a.m. PT. Following last month’s situation, Google has yet to release the April 2023 update for the Pixel 4a to 7 Pro.
As Monday winds down, the company has yet to post a “Google Pixel Update – April 2023” changelog, detail the “Pixel Update Bulletin—April 2023,” or release full Factory/OTA Images.
The “Android Security Bulletin—April 2023” was released at the usual time, but carriers (Verizon) have yet to detail.
We’re not expecting the April security patch to be a big upgrade since Android 13 QPR2 rolled out last month. At best, there should be a handful of functional updates and other fixes. (The next Feature Drop/QPR3 is expected in June, with testing already underway.)
It comes as one user last week received an April 5, 2023 security update on their Pixel 5 ahead of schedule. That was a one-off incident with no other reports (possibly internal testing), but it did reveal a build number that suggested nothing significant is likely to change.
Top comment by Mason
What's most disturbing is the lack of communication. December and January updates were not provided at all to many T-Mobile users, and not a word was received from either company about what caused that. A simple "there's a compatbility issue with band X cellular connectivity" would have been enough.
There’s no obvious reason for the update to not be released today (i.e., Monday isn’t a public holiday in the US). The last notable delay was in August 2022, when Google did not roll out an update on schedule because it was waiting for Android 13, which received a mid-month launch. Before that, the Pixel 6 series was not updated at the same time as older phones, with Tensor likely at fault.
Google never explained why the updates were delayed last month, and the company didn’t provide any guidance when we asked today about April.
Meanwhile, the Pixel Watch has yet to see its April 2023 update. Google has been updating the wearable on the same day/schedule as its phone. Last month’s sizable Pixel Watch release widely rolled out as part of the second wave alongside the Pixel 6, 6 Pro, and 6a.
Hopefully, the April delay is not as significant as last month’s, and this doesn’t become a habit for Google.
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