April security patch rolls out on Pixels with enhancements and bug fixes

Addressing some issues from the December Pixel feature drop.

What you need to know

• The April security patch has begun rolling out for Pixel smartphones.
• The update brings several bug fixes, including some that were introduced during the December feature drop.
• Manu Samsung smartphones have already begun receiving the April patch.

It’s that time of the month again; time for Google to release the April security patch to its Pixel smartphones. As usual, the update addresses vulnerabilities within Android, but Google also includes bug fixes specific to its Pixels. This time around, the update also comes with some welcome improvements that owners of the Google Pixel 4a 5G and Google Pixel 5 are sure to appreciate.

As far as bug fixes go, the update addresses an issue that caused some devices to appear offline when connected through a VPN. This affected devices all the way down to the Google Pixel 3, so the update covers the full scope of Google’s supported smartphones. Another bug fix addresses devices as early as the Google Pixel 4 freezing when booting up. The last fix includes home screen grid settings that were missing for some Pixel smartphones. This is likely related to the new grid size options introduced for the Pixel Launcher with the December feature drop.

Newer Pixel smartphones are getting some performance enhancements for apps and games. There are even improvements for camera quality on third-party apps, which should please users of apps like Snapchat and Instagram.

The April security patch should be rolling out now to Pixel smartphones. You can either wait for the update to appear or check manually in device settings, although some carrier-locked models may have to wait a bit longer for the update to appear. Some of the best Samsung phones have already begun receiving the update last week, beating Google to the punch.