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[Update: Final patch] Google stops updating the original Pixel and Pixel XL

The original Pixel was not supposed to receive Android 10, with Google originally only guaranteeing two years of major software updates and three years of patches. While the former got extended, the latter did not, and the 2016 flagship today did not receive the November security patch.

Update 11/5: Google confirmed to The Verge that the Pixel and Pixel XL will not get the November security patch. However, there will be “one final software update” in December that encompasses features and fixes from both months. Afterwards, the original Made by Google phones will no longer be updated.

Update 12/2: The Pixel and Pixel XL received its last update today with the December security patch. Unlike the Pixel 2, Pixel 3, and Pixel 3a, the first Made by Google phone did not gain any new features.


This original device kickstarted the first-party lineup of Made by Google hardware. It also set the design language for the first few phones with a distinctive shade that persisted up to the Pixel 3a. It also set how Google — ideally — wants both phones to look the same and just differ by screen size. Available in Very Silver, Quite Black, and Really Blue, these Pixels also started Google’s penchant for uniquely named color schemes.

As our Stephen Hall noted in his 2016 review of the Pixel and Pixel XL:

This is a Google-made package from top to bottom, and yeah, it has its compromises, but it very well could be the start of something great. That’s what I think is so special about it. The idea of what Google might be able to accomplish going forward is exciting, and the Pixel is a glimpse at a future where Google’s own hardware competes with the Samsungs and Apples of the world — and maybe even wins.

The first phone was very much manufactured by HTC, but it had a unique wedge shape that obviated the need for a camera bump. It was powered by a Snapdragon 821 with 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of 128 GB of RAM. The Pixel has a 5-inch AMOLED screen at 1080 x 1920 with 2,770 mAh battery, while the XL went to 1440 x 2560 and 3,450 mAh. The Pixel and Pixel XL had a 12.3 MP rear camera and 8 MP front facer that continued the photography work Google was doing on the Nexus 5X and 6P.

At launch, Google promised two years of guaranteed Android version updates (or major releases), and three years of guaranteed security updates in the form of monthly patches. The latter deadline ended last month with the October security patch, and as of this morning there’s no November release. The Google Pixel update might be late, which is a common occurrence for older phones, and we’ve asked Google to confirm.

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com