February Android Security Update Now Out for Pixel, Nexus Devices

Google has started rolling out the February Android security patch for Google Pixel and Nexus smartphones. While the wider availability of Pixel Visual Core remains the highlight, the monthly update also brings along other features including numerous bug fixes and other software improvements on the smartphones.

As we mentioned, the February Android security patch for Pixel and Nexus phones is now being rolled out via OTA. While all the features in the update are applicable for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, some of them including improved Bluetooth call quality and RSA key parsing are available on the Pixel and Pixel XL. Out of the two, only RSA key parsing will be rolled out to Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P.

For the Pixel 2 range, other updates include improved icons in Settings app, improved Wi-Fi uplink performance, improved Android Auto performance, improved battery performance (only on some Pixel 2 XL units), improved data performance for Telus users, improved device stability, and improved routing during audio output switching.

The update also includes the opening up of Pixel Visual Core to third-party apps on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. Pixel Visual Core is Google's image-processing chip that uses computational photography and machine learning to improve image quality on apps that use the relevant camera APIs.

You can also download the respective factory images and OTA files if you can't wait for the update to show up on your smartphone (you really should wait).