Category: Google Pixel 2 XL

Back in June I posted on a bug that had been introduced in that month’s Android Security Update.  The bug caused the Pixel 2 XL to be very slow to wake up if you had the ambient display disabled in Settings.  At the time, Google acknowledged the bug and indicated that it would be fixed in the July Android Security Update.  Which they did but had to essentially break another fix in order to make this fix work.

Clear as mud?  Let me explain.

There was a bug that was impacting some users turning off their Pixel 2 XLs that caused a bright flash before the device entered into the ambient display.  That fix, which did fix that issue, broke the wake up process when coming out of ambient mode, thus causing the slow wake ups.  To fix the slow wake ups, they had to revert that first fix back to its original code.

If your Pixel 2 XL seems to have slowed down on wake-up after the June Android Security Update, you are not alone.  Yesterday Google confirmed that a bug, which was likely introduced with the update, has caused devices to take 1-3 seconds to wake up after the power button is pressed or the fingerprint scanner is used.  They also identified that the issue only impacts Pixel 2 XLs that have had the Ambient Display is disabled in Settings.

The work around to the problem is to turn the Ambient Display setting to Always On until Google can roll out a patch to fix the issue.

Over the weekend, I posted about the great deal the Google Store is running on the Google Pixelbook.  Now it seems they have put together a great deal on the Google Pixel 2 XL phone too.  Right now at the store you can pick up the flagship Pixel device for regular price but you get $150 in store credit to use later plus a Google Home Mini.  All you have to do is add both the Google Pixel 2 XL and the Home Mini to your cart and the price will be discounted.

While we all know that the Google Pixel 3 lineup is going to be coming later this year, that is no reason not to give the Pixel 2 XL a serious look.  It will be updated to Android R when it is released and you still get free Google Photo storage for two years too.  Oh, and it is a seriously awesome phone.

As expected today, Google has released the May 2018 Android Security Update for the Pixel and Nexus devices.  The update, which consists of two patches, is rolling out now to compatible Google devices.  With it being the Monday of the first full week of the new month, it was expected we would see these patches land today.

As has become the norm, there are two patches for this month’s Android Security Update.  The first, dated May 1, 2018, consists of 7 patches, all of which are marked as High priority.  The patches in this build deal with general Android items like frameworks, runtimes and other base elements to the platform.

The Google Camera app for the Google Pixel lineup of phones has a new update rolling out that brings some UI changes as well as some new features.  The update is version 5.2 for those keeping score at home and has been released to the Play Store.  You should see the update over the course of the next few days.

From a UI perspective, the top menu bar has been cleaned up with the grid control settings moved to the menu in the app as a setting.  Given that the grid view is normally something you set and forget, this makes sense and makes the upper bar in the app a bit less cluttered.

As expected with it being the first Monday of the first full week of the month, Google has released the March 2018 Android Security Update patches for the Pixel lineup of phones as well as the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P.  The full factory images for those who want to side load them are available as well as the OTA updates.  The automatic sending of the OTA updates should begin later this week for those that don’t want to bother with a side load.

As usual, there are two patches this month although there is also a second bulletin announcement regarding fixes specific to the Pixel 2 lineup.  In the March 1, 2018 dated patch, there are a total of 16 fixes, 8 of which are considered critical.  These fixes in the first patch deal with Android issues broadly and mostly have to do with media framework and system level issues that could allow for remote code execution.