March Pixel Feature Drop with Android 13 QPR2 now rolling out

After a week-long delay, Google today is rolling out Android 13 QPR2 with the March security patch and the first Pixel Feature Drop of 2023.

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Android 13 QPR2

Following QPR1 in December, Android 13 QPR2 contains only a handful of visual tweaks. The biggest is a large digital clock when you fully expand Quick Settings. (As you swipe down, note how the time in the top-left corner gets bigger.) It appears in the top-left corner with day/date below, while your cellular carrier is now displayed above the row of status bar icons.

Google has also replaced the battery percentage in Quick Settings with a remaining day/hour or “Until hh:mm” estimate.

Elsewhere, there are minor tweaks to padding in the Pixel Launcher and folders. Meanwhile, Now Playing appears higher up on the lockscreen, the “Emergency” calling button is larger, and the Google Home icon appears in Device controls.

March Feature Drop

On the Pixel 7 series, two eSIMs can be used for Dual SIM Dual Standby, and there’s also support for T-Mobile 3CA, as well as 5G for the Pixel 6a and 7/Pro in India.

Pixel 6 Pro owners can now switch to 1080p FHD+ “High resolution” from 1440p, while Night Sight on the Pixel 6 series is getting faster due to new and improved algorithms on the first-generation Tensor chip.

Ultra-wideband digital car key support is rolling out over the coming weeks so you can keep your Pixel 6 Pro or 7 Pro in your pocket for car locking and unlocking. Those with compatible vehicles (2022+ BMW models) can also start the engine with the phone in their pocket instead of placing in the phone tray.

Direct My Call is coming to Pixel 4a, 4a 5G, 5, and 5a, while Health Connect is now preloaded on Pixel phones thanks to Android 13 QPR2. Hold for Me is currently available in the US, Australia, and Canada, and it’s now coming to Japan.

At a Glance is adding a Cross Device Timer capability that shows the status of countdowns set on Nest displays/speakers. When the timer goes off, you’ll get an Assistant notification on your phone with details and the ability to “Stop” or “Add 1 min.” Amusing, it’s “not compatible with Google Home Max.”

Lastly, there are 21 new emoji characters, like pink heart and goose.

For the Pixel Watch, Google is highlighting Fall Detection, and a trio of accessibility features announced last month. There’s mono audio to limit disorientation from split audio, as well as color correction and greyscale modes to “better optimize the display for a wider range of vision preferences.” This will be available in the coming weeks on “Wear OS 3+.”

If you’re running Android 13 QPR2 Beta 3.2 and enrolled in the Beta Program, you have to opt out in order to get the stable 13 QPR2 release. After doing so, the March update might not be rolled out to your device yet. In that case, you can safely ignore the downgrade OTA and/or 13 QPR3 Beta 1 (later this week) until the stable March release appears on your phone. If you opt out after installing the Android 13 QPR3 Beta, your device will be wiped.

There are 31 security issues resolved in the Android 13 March patch dated 2023-03-01 and 29 for 2023-03-05. Vulnerabilities range from high to critical. The dedicated bulletin for Google devices lists 120 security fixes with many separate carrier builds.

• Pixel 7 gets over 40 fixes with Android 13 QPR2 update

• Pixel 7 Pro: TQ2A.230305.008.C1 — Factory Image — OTA
  • TQ2A.230305.008.A3, WINDTRE/Canada — Factory Image — OTA
• Pixel 7: TQ2A.230305.008 — Factory Image — OTA
  • TQ2A.230305.008.A1, WINDTRE/Canada — Factory Image — OTA

March 2023 builds for the Pixel 6, 6 Pro, and 6a are not available yet.

• Pixel 5a: TQ2A.230305.008.C1 — Factory Image — OTA
  • TQ2A.230305.008.A3, T-Mobile, T-Mobile MVNOs — Factory Image — OTA
• Pixel 5: TQ2A.230305.008.C1 — Factory Image — OTA
  • TQ2A.230305.008.A3, T-Mobile, T-Mobile MVNOs — Factory Image — OTA
• Pixel 4a 5G: TQ2A.230305.008.C1 — Factory Image — OTA
  • TQ2A.230305.008.A3, T-Mobile, T-Mobile MVNOs — Factory Image — OTA
• Pixel 4a: TQ2A.230305.008.C1 — Factory Image — OTA

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