The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have reached their end of life. The 2017 Google phones are now starting to receive their last software update. The latest update comes with build number RP1A.201005.004.A1 for both devices. It bundles both November and December 2020 Android security patches. There’s only one version for all carriers.
The update only introduces patches for critical security flaws from the two months and doesn’t bring any new features and enhancements. While the Pixel 2 and 2 XL are still very capable phones and there’s nothing preventing you from continue using them, you’ll be missing out on several great things as smartphone tech evolves pretty quickly.
For instance, the December 2020 Feature Drop for Pixel 3 and later brings features like Adaptive Sound, wider availability of Google’s Hold for Me feature, and more. An Adaptive Connectivity feature for Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 now automatically switches between 4G LTE and 5G networks depending on the usage scenario. If you’re browsing the web or sending a text, the phone will connect to a 4G LTE network. However, if you start streaming a video or downloading large files, it will switch to 5G.
Not to forget the Pixel 2 and 2 XL will be less secure with each passing month. It’s advisable to upgrade to a newer Pixel phone, or some other recent smartphone to get all the latest features and security.
Google is pushing one last software update to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
Launched in October 2017, the second-generation Pixel phones received software and security updates regularly for three years, which is the standard Google has set for its phones. The devices arrived in the market running Android 8.0 Oreo and made the jump to Android 11 in September this year.
Google then pushed the last regular security update to the two devices in October. The company said that it’ll seed one more update beyond the original calendar commitment in December. The update would accumulate all the necessary security fixes that should ensure the proper working of the devices for the foreseeable future. This is a trend Google set last year with the original Pixel phones. That promised additional update has now arrived for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.
Note that Google has yet to start rolling out the update over the air (OTA). So if you go to the “System update” menu under Settings > System > Advanced, it will still say that “Regular updates have ended for this device”. However, that should change and a “Check for updates” button should show up once Google starts pushing the OTA update.
In the meantime, the factory images (Pixel 2 | Pixel 2 XL) are now available for manual installation. You can also sideload the OTA (Pixel 2 | Pixel 2 XL) if you can’t wait for the update to roll out.