Kellen in News 2 years ago

Google Adds 77 Bugs Fixes and Improvements in December’s Big Quarterly Pixel Update

As I was saying earlier, we love December because we get the monthly Android update and a Pixel Feature Drop, but maybe most importantly, this release marks the moment we get a big quarterly release from Google that typically addresses dozens of bugs and improvements on Pixel phones. For December 2022, this Quarterly Platform Release (QPR) is no different and Google is indeed taking care of or improving over 70 items on the Pixel 4a up through the Pixel 7 Pro.

We’ve captured the entire list that Google shared on its Pixel Phone Help community below, because re-writing it all for you sounds hellish and we don’t want to misinterpret something Google has said.

What you’ll find are sections for Apps, Audio, Battery & Charging, Biometrics, Bluetooth, Camera, Display & Graphics, Framework, Sensors, System, Telephony, Touch, User Interface, and Wi-Fi. Those are listed alphabetically too, to help you get into each without having to look hard. The list also details which devices are impacted through reference footnotes.

As for what sticks out to me, I’d point to improvements to background performance of Google apps, USB support, audio codecs, charging/battery usage/thermal performance, camera stability, system stability, network connection stability and performance (!), 3G to 4G switching, connectivity after toggling airplane mode, RCS messaging, SIM connectivity, touch responsiveness, and WiFi network connections.

In fixes, the list is almost too big for me to relay, but I’m here for any and all fixes for network connections (and there are some), “tap to wake” and “lift to wake” issues, screen flickering in always-on display, Bluetooth issues related to all sorts of devices (like car head units), fingerprint issues, adaptive and wireless charging bugs, and more.

Time to dive in and let us know if Google took care of any complaints you had. I bet they did.

December Pixel Quarterly Platform (QPR1) Release Bug List

Apps

Fix for issue causing text input to certain fields in the Phone app to display in a darker color
Fix for issue occasionally causing playback errors when seeking through video content in certain apps
Fix for issue occasionally preventing text messages from restoring from cloud backups during device setup
General improvements for background performance in certain Google apps

Audio

General improvements for USB audio support for various cables or accessories *[1]
General improvements to support various audio codecs with certain devices or accessories *[4]

Battery & Charging

Battery usage in Settings displays information since last full charge (up to 7 days)
Fix for issue occasionally causing device to power off while Battery Share is active *[4]
Fix for issue occasionally causing higher battery usage during media playback with certain apps *[2]
Fix for issue occasionally preventing Adaptive charging from working in certain conditions *[2]
Fix for issue occasionally preventing wireless charging from working with certain accessories *[2]
General improvements for charging, battery usage or thermal performance in certain conditions *[1]

Biometrics

Fix for issue occasionally causing audio to skip when played over certain Bluetooth devices or accessories *[2]
Fix for issue occasionally delaying when the fingerprint icon is displayed on the lock screen *[1]
Fix for issue occasionally preventing fingerprint sensor from detecting touch while always-on display is active *[3]
Fix for issue where fingerprint enrollment may occasionally display visual glitches in certain conditions *[1]
Improvements for face unlock lock screen helper text shown in certain conditions *[2]

Bluetooth

Fix for issue causing music playback to continue without audible sound after ending a call while using certain Bluetooth accessories *[2]
Fix for issue occasionally causing audio to skip when played over certain Bluetooth devices or accessories *[2]
Fix for issue occasionally preventing audio switching between connected Bluetooth devices in certain conditions
Fix for issue occasionally preventing Bluetooth Low Energy devices from displaying a device name during pairing
Fix for issue occasionally preventing connection to car head units using older Bluetooth versions
Fix for issue occasionally preventing discovery of certain Bluetooth devices or accessories
Fix for issue occasionally preventing previously paired Bluetooth devices from reconnecting
General improvements for Bluetooth stability and performance in certain conditions

Camera

Fix for issue occasionally causing Camera app to crash while zoomed in or switching modes *[2]
Fix for issue occasionally causing viewfinder preview to display a blank screen *[2]
Fix for issue where video that is recorded while switching between camera modes occasionally shows gaps in playback *[2]
General improvements for camera stability and performance in certain conditions

Display & Graphics

Fix for issue occasionally causing screen to flicker when waking from always-on display
Fix for issue occasionally causing visual artifacts or glitches while using certain apps or games *[3]

Framework

Fix for issue occasionally causing notifications to display in a different color theme from the system
Fix for issue occasionally causing the wrong character to display after a new line in certain apps or UI elements
Fix for issue occasionally causing Work Profile app notifications to appear even if Work Profile is paused
Fix for issue occasionally preventing certain apps to rotate to landscape orientation
Fix for issue occasionally preventing keyboard from being dismissed while using certain apps

Sensors

Fix for issue occasionally preventing “tap to wake” or “lift to wake” from working in certain conditions *[1]
Fix for issue occasionally preventing Adaptive brightness from activating in certain conditions
Fix for issue occasionally preventing Quick Tap from triggering app or system shortcuts in certain conditions
Fix to improve Adaptive brightness transitions during phone calls in certain conditions *[1]
General improvements for proximity sensor performance under certain lighting conditions *[1]

System

General improvements for system stability and performance in certain conditions
General improvements to optimize device thermal performance in certain conditions or use cases *[1]

Telephony

Fix for issue causing reduced network or call stability under certain conditions *[2]
Fix for issue occasionally preventing network SIM cards from activating in certain conditions *[3]
General improvements for network connection stability and performance in certain conditions
General improvements for network connectivity after toggling airplane mode off
General improvements for switching between 3G to 4G on certain carrier networks
General improvements for VPN connection stability and performance on mobile networks under certain conditions
General improvements for Wi-Fi calling stability and performance for certain carriers or networks
Improve dual SIM network connectivity in certain conditions *[3]
Improve RCS messaging stability under certain conditions *[2]

Touch

General improvements for touch response and performance in certain conditions *[1]

User Interface

Change for home screen search bar behavior to open the Google app when tapping the G logo
Fix for issue occasionally causing “Pause work apps” button display over app drawer or in the wrong position
Fix for issue occasionally causing certain Settings toggles to appear disabled, or set to the wrong state
Fix for issue occasionally causing device color theme to change unexpectedly
Fix for issue occasionally causing home screen app icons to appear duplicated after adjusting grid size
Fix for issue occasionally causing home screen widgets or icons to appear small or scaled down in certain conditions
Fix for issue occasionally causing media player controls to appear invisible or hidden in notification shade
Fix for issue occasionally causing notification overflow dot to overlay app icons on lock screen
Fix for issue occasionally causing notifications to disappear or appear invisible in notification shade
Fix for issue occasionally causing screenshot captures to fail in certain conditions
Fix for issue occasionally causing suggested apps in Search to overlap or display over results
Fix for issue occasionally causing text to appear incorrectly cutoff or truncated at different font sizes
Fix for issue occasionally causing UI to reset after adjusting display resolution
Fix for issue occasionally causing wallpaper to appear black or empty in certain conditions
Fix for issue occasionally enabling touch interaction during the lock screen transition after screen is turned off
Fix for issue occasionally preventing media player album art from updating when content changes
Fix for issue occasionally preventing media player controls from displaying on lock screen
Fix for issue occasionally preventing screen to appear blank or frozen after launching certain apps
Fix for issue where incoming notifications would occasionally display over others listed in the notification shade
Fix to improve responsiveness of At A Glance home and lock screen widget for certain conditions or use cases
Fix to improve spacing for certain UI modals in device setup and Settings
General improvements for performance in certain UI transitions and animations

Wi-Fi

Fix for issue occasionally preventing hotspot from turning on in certain conditions *[1]
General improvements for Wi-Fi network connection stability & performance in certain conditions *[1]

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Device ApplicabilityFixes are available for all supported Pixel devices unless otherwise indicated below.