Google’s Pixel 7 and 7 Pro get minor November update ahead of new features next month

Small bug fixes aim to improve battery life on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 lineup before December’s feature drop arrives with bigger enhancements.

Google has released its monthly security update for the Pixel lineup, and as far as bug fixes go, the list for November’s patch is pretty small. The main improvements aim to improve battery life for the Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 devices. The 2022 flagships get “optimizations for display power consumption to improve thermal performance in certain conditions,” while last year’s Pixels are receiving a “fix for issue causing increased power consumption while certain apps installed.” Google doesn’t specify which apps those are.

This monthly patch also resolves bugs that could cause a green display flicker “in certain conditions” on the Pixel 7 devices, and the Photos app should no longer crash on Google’s latest phones “when using certain editing features.” The full update notes can be found here.

It’s nice to see the update hitting the Pixel 7 lineup on day one; Google held back some of the early Pixel 7 security patches after they arrived on older models, seemingly needing more time to optimize them for the company’s Tensor chip.

Battery & Charging

Fix for issue causing increased power consumption while certain apps installed *[1]

Display & Graphics

Fix for issue occasionally causing green display flicker in in certain conditions *[2]

Optimizations for display power consumption to improve thermal performance in certain conditions *[2]

System

Fix for issue occasionally causing Photos app to crash when using certain editing features *[2]

*[1] Included on Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro & Pixel 6a

*[2] Included on Pixel 7 & Pixel 7 Pro

December’s update will likely be much more substantial, with Google planning to roll out one of its quarterly “feature drops” that will include new tricks exclusive to the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. Owners can expect the Clear Calling and free built-in VPN features that Google initially announced in October alongside other improvements and performance enhancements.