It’s well known in the tech world that Google’s Nexus and Pixel devices are the very first ones to obtain interesting updates from Google. This time also, Google is all set to release the April Security update for the Pixel and Nexus devices. The compatible list of devices which will receive the said update will include Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Nexus 5X, and Nexus 6P smartphones and among the tablets, the Pixel C tablet will also receive the update. Google officially said that this latest iteration contains as many as 56 functional updates. To make this new update possible, Google will be releasing an OTA ZIP package along with factory images.
In the Android Security Bulletin for the month of April, the report published that the security team of Android found some critical loopholes that could possibly be exploited by hackers using a ‘specially crafted file’ in media framework. Abusing this loophole could be done by a remote tracker by running an arbitrary snippet of code. Although no reports of abuse of this issue have surfaced till now, Google has acted fast and launched the security updates which range from high to critical in two security patch levels. One dated 2018-04-01 and the other one dates 2018-04-05.
Nexus and Pixel users who own an update compatible device can check for the security updates by going to Settings > System Updates. Also, OTA ZIP files have also been put out which can be installed via its unlocked bootloader. Alternatively, it can be sideloaded alongside the existing software. A similar pathway could be taken to update the phone using the ‘update factory images’. However, users are recommended to backup their data before proceeding with this method.
Apart from the very crucial security updates, this new release by Google for the April month brings some exclusive additional features for the Pixel phones. An optimisation of the battery could be seen on the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. Apart from that, micro-video performance in Google Camera has been bumped up plus the lock screen performance, start time logging, modem stability and general connectivity for all Pixel smartphone models have also gone through a significant improvement.
Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 model received the Android April Security update even before the Nexus and Pixel devices. The reports regarding that surfaced in European countries like Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
