Vodafone Australia has announced that it will start rolling out the January security update to the Nexus 6P from January 4. The update will be rolled out in phases, as always, but in an unusually candid and transparent disclosure, the carrier has revealed exactly how it plans to roll out the latest security patches to Google’s 2015 flagship. According to Vodafone, 10,000 Nexus 6P units will be selected at random to receive the update on the first three days. Thereafter, from day 4 thru to day 13, an additional 10% of the remaining devices will be eligible each day to receive the new software. On day 14, the update will go live for everyone. The update will come in the form of a 39MB file and will carry the build number N4F26I. Post installation, the Android security patch level will be bumped up to January 5.
While this is an Australia-specific announcement, the fact that the January security patches for the device are all set to go into circulation means that it should be only a matter of time before most Nexus 6P owners from around the world can expect their devices to receive the new software as well, which is, without doubt, one of the major advantages of owning a Nexus or Pixel device. While most other vendors struggle to roll out timely security patches to their devices, Google’s own phones, more often than not, receive their monthly security patches in time. With Android malware on the rise, this is definitely welcomed news for most Nexus and Pixel owners.
The Nexus 6P was launched last year with Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) on board. The device has since received Android 7.1.1 (Nougat), making it one of the very first devices alongside the Nexus 5X, the Nexus 9 and Pixel C tablets, the Nexus Player dongle and the two Pixel smartphones to get a taste of the latest flavor of Nougat. Android 7.1.1 brings a lot of incremental, yet thoughtful enhancements to the table, including GIF support in the keyboard, app shortcuts, night light and a number of new emoji characters. While most carriers struggle to roll out security patches in a timely manner to their smartphones and tablets, it is certainly heartening to see Vodafone committing itself to rolling out the latest security updates to the Nexus 6P units on its network.