July’s updates for Google’s Pixels are now rolling out, and functional patch notes for this (holiday-delayed) release are very light. In addition to the regular security patches, Pixel owners can look forward to precisely two extra changes: added VoLTE support for “certain” unspecified networks and a fix for “continued device reboots under certain conditions.”
Both changes apply to the full gamut of currently supported phones, from the Pixel 3 series to the latest Pixel 5. We aren’t aware of any repeat reboot problems for Pixels currently, but for those suffering that sort of issue, today’s news should be welcome. Google also doesn’t state which carriers it’s adding VoLTE support for, but we have to assume it’s either in a non-US market or for a smaller carrier. I know some European carriers such as Orange have had issues with VoLTE on Pixels in the past. We’ve reached out to Google for a list of which networks are getting it.
This functional patch log is a little on the lighter side, but it is summer, plenty of folks are taking time off to enjoy themselves now that things are getting better, and just last month Google dropped its big June Feature Drop update, so it’s all quite understandable that this month would be a little lighter on improvements.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “today’s a Wednesday, Pixel updates land on Mondays,” you’re right, but Google indicated this month’s release would be delayed slightly until today, probably as a result of Monday’s federal holiday to celebrate Independence Day here in the US.
On that note, the Security Bulletin and Pixel Security Bulletin for July haven’t been published just yet — again, potentially delayed due to the holiday. However, downloads are up, so the OTA itself should be rolling out shortly to supported devices (Pixel 3 series, Pixel 3a series, Pixel 4 series, Pixel 4a series, and the Pixel 5) if it hasn’t started already.
