

On the first Monday of every month, Google rolls out its security updates for its Pixel Android phones including the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.
And this month is no exception, with Google's latest Android security update going live yesterday. And it's highly recommended for phones from the Pixel 4a onwards, so be sure to grab it if you're a Pixel user.
As ever Google has published full details of what's in the update, which you'll find on the Pixel Phone Help site. But the short version is that in addition to solving some security issues it also fixes some battery and charging issues, solves an occasional display flicker problem and makes the Photos app less crashy.
What's coming next for Google Pixel phones?
If you're a little underwhelmed by the update, don't be: more fun stuff is coming very soon. December should see the final release of Android 13 QPR1, which is currently in open beta testing, and it's also when the next Pixel Feature Drop is due.
Pixel Feature Drops are Pixel-specific updates that bring new features, and during the most recent Made By Google event we were promised that the next 2022 Pixel Feature Drop would a new, free VPN for Pixel 7 and Pixel Pro users. We're also expecting some Pixel 7 features to become available on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, such as spatial audio for the Pixel Buds Pro.
For now, though, think of the latest Pixel update as a bit of essential housekeeping. It's rolling out now and should reach you within the next week depending on the model of Pixel you have and which carrier you're with.
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Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).
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