What’s Inside Google’s November Android 10 Update
Google rolled out the November Android 10 update for the Pixel 2, Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 4, which is funny considering Samsung has clearly surpassed Google in this – an unexpected move.
If you are using one of Google’s flagship phones, you have no reason not to update to the latest version of Android 10. It not only fixes bugs and fixes holes, but it can add a bit of functionality, depending on which device you are using.
Before we get into what’s in the update, let’s take a look at how to install it. Open the app drawer by swiping up from the bottom of the display and tap Settings. From there, scroll down a bit until you see the System section. Click on that, click on Advanced and click on System Update. With any luck, your device already has the November security update installed. If not, you can click on it to check (and install) any available updates.
While that continues, here’s a quick recap of what’s in the November Android 10 update. Not only are you getting tons of fixes for vulnerabilities ranging from ‘moderate’ to ‘critical’ severity by Google itself – but also in an update that contains a number of ” feature updates ”that should customize various aspects of your Pixel device:
- Improvements for Google Assistant Hotword (Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL)
- Subwoofer sound quality improvements (Pixel 3)
- Additional fixes for some devices stuck while loading (Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL)
- Additional support for matching Xbox BT controllers (Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL)
- Smooth display improvements (Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL)
- Camera quality improvements (Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL)
This penultimate improvement should be of particular interest to Pixel 4 owners, as it appears to increase the brightness level when your device uses a 90Hz refresh rate (for smoother images) instead of dropping to 60Hz. Your regular Pixel 4 is reportedly overclocked to 90Hz at about half brightness, while the Pixel 4 XL will go up to 90Hz at any brightness .
It’s unclear what Google means by “improving camera quality,” but it would be great if that included fixing the Pixel 4’s white balance issues, as we previously reported . We haven’t seen anyone talk about improvements here, but it looks like the update potentially improves the quality of your selfies (and allows you to save still images from 4K video).
Notably, Google’s November Android 10 update is the first to officially end support for its OG Pixel, i.e. 2016 Pixel and Pixel XL. But we foresaw it all, right?
If, for any reason, you need factory images or OTA images with the latest Android 10 updates – for example, to manually flash your phone – you can find them by following the corresponding links.