Damien Wilde: Pixel 6 delayed updates chip away at Google's 'flagship' experience

It’s understandable that people find this infuriating. Especially if you’ve paid $599 or $899 for a brand-new Pixel and the previous generations – from the Pixel 3a to the 5a – get updates and Pixel Feature Drop extras ahead of your Pixel 6. All the while, you’re potentially facing connectivity issues, an inconsistent in-display fingerprint scanner, and much more.

I like my Pixel 6 quite a bit, but it’s a secondary phone for me, so the stakes are much lower. That said, it has been weird how Android updates since launch have been delayed on the Pixel 6 devices every time. The last Android beta was on all Pixels besides the 6 for weeks (months?) before coming to Google’s latest, and the 12L rollout has hit all Pixels…except the Pixel 6 line.

It’s just odd, and as the article points out, the elephant in the room is Google’s custom silicon which is the main hardware differentiator between it and it’s older models. Maybe it’s related, maybe it’s not, but as someone who owns a Pixel to get hands on with Android features first, I’d be better off with a Pixel 5a right now.