The Android December security patch is here

Today is a big day for Google software. The company released the last quarterly Pixel Feature Drop of the year, the first such big-ish update to come to the Google Pixel 7 Pro and its smaller sibling. The Pixel Feature Drop isn’t the only release coming to Google’s smartphones, though. Google is also bringing the December Security Patch to its lineup.

It’s clear that the Pixel Feature Drop is taking the spotlight this month, but there are also an absolute ton of fixes arriving, as well, from general stability improvements to targeted patches addressing annoying glitches — you’ll want to check out Google’s extensive release notes for the complete list of changes.

If you’re eager to get the update, keep in mind that you need a Pixel newer than the Pixel 4. The latter just got its last update in October 2022. Its budget sibling, the Pixel 4a, is still in on the action, though. It was released in August 2020, almost a full year after the Pixel 4, and is thus well within Google’s three-year support window the company promised for it.

To download the security patch (along the much more exciting Pixel Feature Drop), head to your Pixel phone’s system settings and smash that update button to download the release via Google’s built-in mechanism. If you’re not patient enough for the slow download process, Google also has OTA files and factory images available.

As always, the update is also coming to any other great Android smartphone receiving regular system updates, though you might have to wait longer than if you’d have a Pixel phone.