Android 7.1.2, April 2017 Patch Rolls Out To Nexus, Pixels
It has been a pretty big news day for Android. In addition to Google's announcement of its new "PAX" cross-licensing accord and the unsurprising victory of Android over Windows on the mobile web, owners of Nexus and Pixel devices are also getting a treat. That's right, Android 7.1.2 is finally rolling out, for real, on Google's device. But, aside from that, Google has also released the Android security bulletin for April 2017.
Android 7.1.2 is, technically, just a minor update but, depending on what device you have, it can be a pretty major change. For owners of the Nexus 6P, for example, it means finally getting fingerprint sensor gestures. Pixel C owners, on the other hand, will be getting the new Pixel Launcher plus a new multi-tasking/recent apps layout.
Pixel and Pixel XL users are getting some goodies. Perhaps most notable is that Google is saying it has finally fixed some of the biggest issues to greet these two "by Google" smartphones. That includes the pink band in the camera, the popping/static audio at high volumes, and random shutdowns.
Google has also posted the security bulletin for April 2017, which is still based on Android 7.1.1. According to the bulletin, the biggest bug fix revolved around, yet again, remote code execution when processing media files. It seems that the ghost of Stagefright still haunts Android. Like last month's bulletin, Google is splitting the patch into two levels, letting OEMs choose which level to apply, depending on schedule constraints.
For Nexus and Pixel devices, however, the patches and updates are more uniform. Somewhat. Unfortunately for Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 owners, it seems that 7.0 was really the end of the line for them so they shouldn't expect any version 7.1.2 update even. The April Security Patch is missing for the Pixel C and the Nexus Player, perhaps confirming that those were already included in their Android 7.1.2 updates.