Category: Google Nexus 6P

The 2nd and likely the last beta of Android Nougat 7.1.2 has begun rolling out to those enrolled in the Android Beta program.  The update brings additional bug fixes and refinements to the first beta which, on the whole, is a bug fix and refinement release for Nougat.  While there is no official word on when the general public will see 7.1.2, it is likely not far away.  Generally the first beta was solid and this second appears to be smoothing out a few rough edges.  It feels complete at this point.

While the focus is on bug fixes and refinements, this beta does bring a few new things to the table.  First, for those of you with a Nexus 6P, you finally get the fingerprint scanner swipe action that has been on the Nexus 5X since the first beta.  If you remember, the first beta for the 6P was delayed by about three weeks and didn’t come with the ability to swipe down and read notifications.  That seems to have been addressed in this second beta.

LineageOS has started posting several experimental and nightly builds for various devices, including the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P.  The posting of the new software builds came as promised by the Lineage team and ironically keep Cyanogen elements in their versioning and naming conventions.  Right now the downloads page has builds for the two Nexus’ but also for the Nextbit Robin, Motorola G4/G4 Plus and the Xiaomi Redmi 1S.  Each build has the devices code name as part of the build name (Angler for the Nexus 6P for example) and the version numbering is what Cyanogen was using prior to their demise.  Builds 14.1 in LineageOS are Android Nougat 7.1.

Thanks to a leak from Vodafone Australia, it looks like owners of the Nexus 6P and Google Pixel lineup will be seeing the Android Nougat 7.1.1 update starting next Monday, December 5th.  For the Nexus 6P, the updated build will be NMF26F and will bring app shortcuts to the phone as well as the December Android Security Update.  As readers will remember, the 7.1.1 update has been in beta for a few months now and the second and expected to be final Developer Preview dropped last week.  Google has said very early on that the 7.1.1 update would be coming in early December so the December 5th date lines up well with what has been publicly stated from the company.

The Android team at Google has released the first Developer Preview of Android Nougat and with it comes a host of changes and improvements.  The version is indicated as Nougat 7.1.1 with a build number of NFP10C and right now it is only available for the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P and the Pixel C.  As you know, Nougat 7.1.1 will be shipping on the Google Pixel devices so this is very much a catch-up build for the Nexus devices and Pixel C.  The good news is that there are a lot of changes and improvements in this build of Nougat.  While Nexus devices won’t get the Pixel Launcher – for now at least – the changes that are in 7.1.1 do bring some of the Pixel features to these devices and it is well worth considering joining the beta program so you can get a sneak peak.

That said, it is beta.  That means that you could run into issues with apps or other things with your phone if you do decide to install it.  I’m far more comfortable in recommending this install however because it is an evolution of Nougat, not the wholesale version change from Marshmallow to Nougat.  I’ve been running it on my Nexus 6P for about 24 hours now and haven’t run into any issues.  If you decide to install it, the download is about 1.3GB so you’ll for sure want to make sure you are on Wi-Fi to avoid data usage.

It took a bit longer than expected but Google has finally released the factory image and OTA image for Android Nougat for the Nexus 6P.  With the release of these images, it means that 6P owners can expect to start seeing Nougat drop onto their devices over the course of the next few days and weeks.  The update is a big one at over 900MB so you will want to make sure you phone is connected to Wi-Fi and fully charged before you start the update process.  All in, it will take about 30 minutes from download to install to reboot.

As for why it took this long to get the update out is a point of speculation.

Great news and yet another reason to pick up a Nexus phone.  The Nexus team at Google has announced that Wi-Fi Assistant is coming to all Nexus phones in the coming weeks.  Wi-Fi Assistant to this point has been exclusive to Project Fi users which allows their devices to automatically connect to Google approved Wi-Fi hotspots securely and without any user intervention.  It is a huge benefit to Fi frankly as it saves on data plan usage.  It will connect your phone to Wi-Fi without you even knowing it.  Now all Nexus owners will benefit from the feature.