Google Tensor-powered Pixel devices appear to be getting a rare kernel upgrade

Ben Schoon | Jan 12 2024 - 10:45 am PT

One of the biggest selling points of a Pixel device is the (usual) cadence at which Google releases new software updates and, apparently, Tensor-powered Pixels are about to get a rare software update that updates the kernel used behind the scenes.

As highlighted by Mishaal Rahman on Twitter/X, Google appears to be working on updating the Linux kernel on all Tensor-powered Pixels. Specifically, the evidence presented suggests an update to version 6.1, which was released in December 2022 and is the second-to-newest version of the kernel, with 6.6 having been released in October 2023.

While there’s no word on what a kernel upgrade might change, this is notable for a couple of reasons.

For one, this update would put all Tensor-powered Pixels on the same kernel. Pixel 6 and forward all ran on version 5.10 until the launch of Pixel 8, with 8 and 8 Pro running version 5.15. One of the comments notes that “some Pixel devices” will be released with version 5.15 on “Android V,” which is Android 15. That also suggests that the timeline at play here is not in the immediate future, but rather sometime after Android 15’s release. The 5.10 kernel version will see its end-of-life date in December 2026, though, so it most likely won’t be too long after.

Generally speaking, kernel updates won’t change much on the user-facing side, but the kernel can have big impacts on how your device runs. Everything from battery life to performance can be impacted, which is why custom kernels were a pretty popular aspect of the days when Android modding was more popular.