Out of the box, the Pixel 6a is running the April security patch. It’s three months old and based on Android 12L (instead of QPR3), though it follows how the Pixel 5a launched late August with a June patch, while the 2020 Pixel 4a had a May patch for its August release.
Today, Google is providing a day-one update to coincide with the Pixel 6a’s formal release on store shelves and first customer deliveries. The Pixel 6a has received its first security update from us. Depending on carrier networks, the deployment will start today and continue in phases throughout the following week. When the OTA is prepared for their device, users will be notified.
Highlights
Update: According to Verizon, this is the June 2022 security patch. As of Thursday afternoon, the Global and AT&T/T-Mobile builds are not yet available. We’ve reached out to Google for clarification on the month-old patch level. Meanwhile, Google told us that Pixel 6a will be eligible for the Android 13 Beta Program as early as next week. It’s not yet available this morning.
Google was originally going to release this Pixel 6a update alongside other devices on Monday, but has since moved it up. The OTA starts rolling out today, and factory images for manual sideloading will be fully available shortly.
