Google Pixel

Google Pixel seamless updates are getting much faster

Ben Schoon | Nov 16 2023 - 6:51 am PT

Seamless updates have been supported on Google’s smartphones since the Nexus days, but if there’s one complaint to be had about the background install on Pixel phones, it’s that they’re often maddeningly slow. But, with the latest updates, Google seems to be working on just that.

Generally speaking, seamless updates on Pixel phones can take upwards of 30 minutes to complete. While that sounds like a long time, that comes with the benefit of your phone being usable the entire time outside of a single reboot. Compared to a typical update on devices without this A/B method (like Samsung), this keeps your phone usable for longer, and it’s also a safer overall update method.

Still, we’d be lying if we said we wish it wasn’t faster.

That seems to be what Google is finally working on, as Pixel owners testing out the latest Android 14 updates claim that seamless updates have sped up considerably. The Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 update that launched yesterday is being distributed through the Android Beta Program, and in turn via OTA updates. Users on Reddit all agree that installation has drastically sped up, taking as little as 10 minutes, and even on older Pixel models too. Manuel Vonau at Android Police also noted the speedy install on a Pixel 7, and our Dylan Roussel similarly saw a surprisingly fast update on his Pixel 8 Pro.

I also installed the OTA on my Pixel Fold, and it took less than 20 minutes to fully download and install the Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 update which was 2.6GB in size, and the “optimizing” step that usually eats up the bulk of install times and can often take upwards of 20-30 minutes on its own, took only 2.5 minutes. Talk about a drastic improvement.

This doesn’t come as a huge surprise though.

Late last year, Google was spotted working to improve the speed of seamless updates, with pretty drastic differences even at the time. It really seems like that is what Google is implementing here, and it’s great news for everyone.

Who knows, maybe Samsung will finally adopt the tech now too.