Google Pixel Hub

Chrome to shift to a two-week release cycle
- The change will be effective starting September 2026, around the stable release of Chrome 153.
- All supported platforms and the beta channels are affected; Dev and Canary channels are not affected from this change.
- Google said this move will minimize disruption and simplify post-release debugging with a smaller scope.
- Extended Stable will continue with its existing eight-week cycle.

#News #Chrome @PixelHubUpdates

March 2026 Pixel Drop
New
- Desktop mode [8+]: Be more productive when you connect your Pixel to an external monitor with USB-C, , which enables a multi-window desktop mode
- Desktop windowing on tablet [Tablet]: Arrange and resize windows on your tablet, just like on a desktop
- Now Playing app: A brand new interface for all identified songs
- Gemini automation [10+ excl. 10a]: Automate tasks with the power of Gemini, with the ability to intercept its actions or leave it in the background to do its job
- Custom Icons: Customise your homepage with Scribbles, Cookies, Easel, Treasure, and Stardust
- Comfort view [10+ excl. 10a]: Reduce visual stimulation from very bright or saturated colors

Updated
- Find the look and Try it on with Circle to Search [10+ excl. 10a]: Identify multiple objects and try on some of the clothings virtually from your phone
- At a Glance updates: Get information related to your "Commute", "Sport scores" that you are interested to keep track of , and "Finance" for stocks related thing
- Magic Cue [10+ excl. 10a]: Get restaurant recommendations while you are having a conversation
- Theme packs: A new set of SpongeBob SquarePants seasonal theme packs, available until May 1, 2026

Expansion
- Guided frame: Provides descriptive audio and haptic feedback through your viewfinder, available in more languages and works offline for Pixel 10 series (excl. 10a)
- Connected Cameras: Supports new external cameras, applications, and Pixel devices via USB cable
- Journal app AI features [9+]: Features such as Reflection, Revisit Topics, and Mood ID are arriving to the Pixel 9 series
- Scam Detection [9+ excl. 9a & 10a]: Available in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Japan
- Call Notes [10+ excl. 10a]: Available in India
- Notification summaries [9+ excl. 9a & 10a]: Available in Japanese

More info: Pixel Community | Google Blog
#Updates #A16 #Pixel #Drop @PixelHubUpdates

March 2026 WearOS 6.1 Pixel Watch Update
- Build ID: CP1A.260305.014.W2, CP1A.260305.014.W4 (LTE)
- Express pay: Pay by touching the reader using your watch, no further actions needed
- Find Hub: Easily find and locate your devices
- Earthquake Alerts: Standalone notification will be sent to your watch if your phone is not paired
- One-handed gestures: Previously for Pixel Watch 4, now on Pixel Watch 3
- SOS Satellite Communications: Available in select regions in Europe, Canada, Puerto Rico, Alaska and Hawaii
- Phone left behind reminders: Get notified if you accidentally left your phone behind (this feature is off by default, available for Pixel 8+).
- Lock phone upon disconnect: Automatically lock your Pixel phone when it disconnects with your watch (available for Pixel 8+).
- Mobile trusted location: Speed up identity checks if you owned Pixel Watch 3+ and Pixel 8 Pro+ (excluding A-series devices).

Download: Factory Images | OTA Images
Changes: Pixel Watch Community | Wear OS Security Bulletin | Pixel Watch Security Bulletin
#Updates #W6 #Watch @PixelHubUpdates

March 2026 Android 16 (QPR3) Pixel Update
- Build ID:CP1A.260305.016

Audio
- Fix for a delay in displaying the speaker icon when adjusting audio settings
Fix for issue occasionally causing audio crashes
- Camera [Pixel 9 & 10 series]: Fix for an issue that caused the camera service to crash, improving overall camera stability

Camera
- [Pixel 9 & 10 series] Fix for an issue that caused the camera service to crash, improving overall camera stability

Display & Graphics
- [Pixel 9 & 10 series] Fix for an issue causing system crashes and impacting overall Android stability
- [Pixel 10 series] Fix for device screen freezing that occasionally renders the phone unusable
- [Pixel 10 series] Fix for issues causing occasional fuzzy or incorrect display behavior
- Fix for the issue where the background blur briefly disappeared in the All Apps screen during search
- [Pixel 10 series] Improvement for Pixel 10 GPU performance by optimizing the OpenCL driver to reduce overhead and increase benchmark scores

Framework-
- [Pixel 9 & 10 series] Fix for an issue that could cause the UI to freeze in certain conditions
- Fix for an issue that could cause a temporary freeze or unresponsiveness related to background processing of Android intelligence features
- Fix for an issue that could cause the device to crash when certain services start up
- [Pixel 10 series] Fix for issues where the device incorrectly reported battery status (e.g., abnormal temperature or missing battery), particularly when using a wireless charger

Telephony
- [Pixel 9 & 10 series] Fix for unexpected device instability that could cause temporary loss of cellular service
- [Pixel 9 & 10 series] General improvements for network connection stability and performance in certain conditions

User Interface
- [Pixel 9 & 10 series] Fix for an issue that could cause an application to get stuck after quickly using recent apps and navigating home
- Fix for the delay experienced when opening the audio output selector after playing music in the background

Download: Factory Images | OTA Images
Changes: Pixel Community | Android Security Bulletin | Pixel Security Bulletin
#Updates #A16 #Pixel @PixelHubUpdates

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image)
- Offering high-speed intelligence from Pro to the Flash series, including advanced world knowledge, and precision text rendering and translation.
- Maintain resemblance of up to five characters and the fidelity of up to 14 objects in a single workflow.
- Generate images in various aspect ratios and resolutions ranging from 512px to 4K.
- Enhanced instruction following that follows complex requests, alongside with visual fidelity upgrade while maintaining the generation speed.
- Available in the Gemini app, Search (AI Mode and Lens), AI Studio, Gemini API, Google Antigravity, Vertex AI, and Gemini CLI.
- SynthID is interoperable with C2PA Content Credentials, with C2Pa verification coming soon to the Gemini app.

More info: Google Blog
#Apps #Gemini @PixelHubUpdates

Android 17 Beta 2
- Build ID: CP21.260206.011, CP21.260206.011.A1 (Pixel 6 series, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro)
- February 2026 Security Patch (December 2025 for Pixel 6 series, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro)
- Play Services: 25.49.33

What's New
- Bubbles: Users can now bubble any app by long-pressing launcher icons.
- EyeDropper API: A new system API allows apps to capture pixel colors from anywhere on the display without requiring screen capture permissions.
- Cross-device Handoff: The new Handoff API enables state resumption across devices (e.g., phone to tablet) via CompanionDeviceManager.
- Local Network Access: Android 17 introduces the ACCESS_LOCAL_NETWORK permission (part of the NEARBY_DEVICES group) to protect LAN communication.
- Time Zone Broadcast: A new intent, ACTION_TIMEZONE_OFFSET_CHANGED, triggers specifically on offset changes like DST transitions.
- SMS OTP Protection: Delays programmatic access to OTP messages by three hours for most apps.

Download: Factory Images | OTA Images | GSI
Changes: Android Developers
#Updates #A17 #Beta #Pixel @PixelHubUpdates

Gemini can help to complete multi-step tasks on Android in the background
- When requested. Gemini automates the task in a secure, virtual window, with no access to other parts of your device.
- You can monitor the actions in live by tapping on the notification and intercept it if needed, or leave it in the background and do other things.
- First available as beta for select apps in the US and Korea, compatible with Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL, alongside the Galaxy S26 series.

#Android @PixelHubUpdates

Circle to Search: Find multiple objects in an image
- Instead of circling one item at a time, circling multiple items should give you relevant results for all the identified items in one go.
- "Try on" (for clothings) is also now accessible from here.
- This experience is possible with the help of Gemini 3's agentic planning.
- These improvements are first rolling out to Pixel 10 and Galaxy S26 series.

More info: Google Blog
#Apps #Search @PixelHubUpdates

YouTube Premium Lite: Play videos in background and offline
- Alongside ad-free videos, you will soon be able to play videos in background and download them to watch offline.
- The perk will be rolling out starting today and become widely available in the coming weeks.

#News #YouTube @PixelHubUpdates

Google Maps fixed limited view issue for signed out users
- Earlier when you are browsing Google Maps or searching places on Google without an account, you can't check information such as popular time, reviews, photos, menus, etc.
- At the time of writing, it seems that Google has fixed this issue and did not intent for it to happen.

#News #Maps @PixelHubUpdates

Security just got... Epic? 🔓👀

We've already leaked some details about the Tensor G6 (Malibu) and its connectivity upgrades, but it seems like Google isn't stopping there.

As another great addition to Malibu's enhancements, we have found what appears to be the next generation of Google's security chip: the Titan M3 - codenamed "Google Epic", with firmware-name "longjing"

While it's impossible to assert the actual differences with Titan M2, we can expect some significant architectural improvements, as well as more advanced security features.

This would effectively allow Google Titan to step up its game and compete with the latest iterations of its most direct competitor in the mobile industry, Apple SEP.

What do you think? Will it be an Epic fail or an actually great upgrade? Comment down below!

Chrome: Split View, PDF annotation and Drive upload
- Split view: Multitask between two tabs at the same time in one window.
- PDF annotation: Add, highlight, edit PDFs right in the browser, with multiple sizes and colours available
- Save to Google Drive: Upload PDFs right into your Drive with a click of a button (all files are located in a folder named Saved from Chrome).

More info: Google Blog
#Apps #Chrome @PixelHubUpdates

Gemini 3.1 Pro
- Enhance complex task processing and core inference capabilities, capable of solving new logic patterns.
- Now available in Gemini App, NotebookLM for AI Pro and AI Ultra users, Vertex AI, and Gemini Enterprise.
- Preview access in Google AI Studio, Gemini CLI,, Google Antigravity and Android Studio.

More info: Google Blog
#Apps #Gemini @PixelHubUpdates

Lyria 3
- A generative music model from Google DeepMind.
- Generate music on the go with just prompt, no lyrics required.
- Control the style, vocals and tempo for the music, helping you to create more realistic and musically complex tracks.
- Currently it will create 30-second tracks with custom cover art powered by Nano Banana.
- SynthID check is also added which tells you whether the file is generated using AI tools from Google.

Availability
- Now available as beta in the Gemini app for users over the age of 18 on desktop, mobile access to be available in the next few days.
- Accessible by creators in YouTube’s Dream Track, which can help to enhance the quality of unique audio tracks.
- Supported languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese (more languages coming soon).

More info: Google Blog
#Apps #Gemini @PixelHubUpdates

Google Pixel 10a
- 6.3-inch (60-120 Hz) Actua Display
- 8 GB RAM + 128/256 GB Storage
- Tensor G4 + Titan M2
- 5100mAh Li-Po battery
- 48 MP wide, f/1.7, 1/2', OIS (8x zoom)
- 13 MP ultrawide, ƒ/2.2, 1/3.1"
- 13 MP selfie, ƒ/2.2, 1/3.1"
- Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 6.0 + USB Type-C 3.2
- 10W Qi wireless charging
- 7 years of OS & security updates
- Color: Lavender, Berry, Fog, Obsidian
- Price: $499 (128 GB), $599 (256 GB)

#Pixel #Pixel10a @PixelHubUpdates

AirDrop compatibility for Pixel 9 series with Quick Share
- Google has announced that this feature will be arriving to all users with Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold over the next few days.
- ICYDK: AirDrop compatibility will be coming to other Android devices via Quick Share in the near future.

Source: Made By Google
#News #Pixel9 @PixelHubUpdates

Android 17 introduces Handoff
- A new feature and API that provides cross-device continuity for apps.
- Allows app activity on one Android device to be "transferred over" to another Android device.
- Runs in the background and surfaces available activities from the user's other nearby devices through launcher and taskbar.
- Capable of launching the app installed on the receiving device if available or open in browser as a fallback.
- P.S. This feature will requires developers to implement into their apps in order for it to work.

More info: Android Developers
#Android #A17 @PixelHubUpdates

Android 17 Beta 1
- Build ID: CP21.260116.011.B1, CP21.260116.011.A1 (Pixel 6 series, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro)
- January 2026 Security Patch (December 2025 for Pixel 6 series, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro)
- Play Services: 25.47.33

What's New
- Mandatory Large Screen Adaptivity: Apps running on large screens can no longer opt-out of resizing or orientation changes.
- Optimized Configuration Changes: No longer restarts Activities by default for specific configuration changes.
- Notification Restrictions: Strict size limits enforced on custom notification views to reduce memory usage.
- Dynamic Session Updates (Camera): Switch between use cases (e.g., Photo to Video) without closing the session or causing glitches.
- Constant Quality for Video Recording: Configure a constant quality (CQ) mode for video encoders.
- Background Audio Hardening: Audio playback, focus requests, and volume changes initiate silently (fail) if the app is not in a valid lifecycle state.
- VVC Support: Added platform support for Versatile Video Coding (H.266).

Download: Factory Images | OTA Images | GSI
Changes: Android Developers
#Updates #A17 #Beta #Pixel @PixelHubUpdates

Android Canary 2602
- Build ID: ZP11.260123.011

Download: Android Flash Tool | Pixel Factory Images Tracker
More info: Android Developers | BetaWiki
#Updates #A16 #Canary #Pixel @PixelHubUpdates

Google Pixel 10a official renders leak
- Colors (left to right): Berry, Fog, Lavender, Obsidian
- Box will include a USB- 2.0 cable (C-to-C), alongside a SIM tool.

Source: evleaks
#Pixel #Pixel10a @PixelHubUpdates