Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 devices seem to be now following a quarterly update schedule instead of monthly patches.

What you need to know

• Google's February 2026 Pixel update is small, likely holding back major changes for the upcoming Android 16 QPR3 release.

• The update skips Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series phones, hinting at a shift away from monthly updates for older devices.

• Google says affected Pixel phones will remain security compliant, but offers little clarity on future update frequency.

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/56379851

TL;DR

• Google has started rolling out a new GPU driver for the Pixel 10 series with Android 16 QPR3 Beta 1.
• The update aligns with Imagination’s August driver release and brings Android 16 and Vulkan 1.4 support.
• While real-world performance gains remain unconfirmed, the update should reach stable builds in a future Pixel Drop

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/55764543

TL;DR

• Google has kicked off a new Extended Repair Program for the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL.
• The program covers a limited number of Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL devices with vertical lines on the display or a screen flickering problem.
• Google is offering free display replacements for these phones for up to three years from the original retail purchase date.

Google just announced some unexpected and welcome news: Pixel 10 owners can now send and receive files with Apple devices over AirDrop. And equally interestingly, the company engineered this interoperability without Apple’s involvement. Google says it works with iPhone, iPad, and macOS devices, and applies to the entire Pixel 10 series. While limited to Google’s latest phones for now, Google spokesperson Alex Moriconi says, “We’re bringing this new experience to Pixel 10 first before expanding to other devices.”

In order to send a file from a Pixel 10 phone over AirDrop, the owner of the Apple device will need to change their settings to make their device discoverable to anyone — there’s an option to do this with an automatic limit of 10 minutes. Then, the Pixel 10 owner should be able to see the device using Quick Share and send it. On the other side, it seems that it’ll look just like any other AirDrop request that the user can approve to start the transfer.

Android Version: 16 (BP41.250916.015.A1)

Since the most recent November android beta update, my phone has been removing widgets that I've been using consistently to access Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Kagi search. Has anyone else in the community been having a similar experience? My gut sensation is that this is intentional behavior to push Gemini usage.

It bothers me that it feels like control over my behavior is being exerted on my device (similar to Windows), but I'm not sure if I'm just being paranoid about it.

Thanks!