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So, welcome along to the May 2026 Pixel Update bulletin. We've actually reached the final stretch of the Android 16 release cycle. And we're while we're all looking ahead to what's coming next, Google's dropped a fresh batch of fixes for the entire lineup. So, let's get into it in this video. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of this May patch though, do me a solid favor and hit that subscribe button. It really helps the channel grow. you join a community of like-minded people and it ensures you never miss a one of these monthly deep dives into everything for your Pixel OTAAS. Cheers. So, as I say, the May 2026 security patch is rolling out right now for eligible devices, and it's a
reasonable one. It covers everything from the Pixel 7a to the tablet all the way up to the brand new 10A and the Pixel 10 Pro 4, which I've been using recently and I will have a long-term review of in the coming weeks. This update is designated as the May 1st, 2026 security level. It includes a resolution for one specific security vulnerability alongside mostly functional fixes, which is what you need to know about. Firstly, though, a word of caution or warning. If you happen to update your phone to the May 2026 patch, you will not be able to go back to a previous build if you happen to have a Pixel 10 unit. This doesn't include the brand new Pixel 10 for what it's worth, as that has released on a newer version
of Android. So, it doesn't need to go back and it can't go back much further than I think the April patch anyway. The reason for this is Google's implementing anti-rollback measures on the Pixel 10 series that prevents the installation of any older Android versions or versions that it would have shipped with. Rolling back from a new Android update to an older one, especially within the same core version of Android, isn't really common practice, but this could be a problem if you are a developer or you intend on becoming a developer with your Pixel 10 series phone. Again, this will not be a problem for most people, but seeing as Google has been implementing these measures a little bit more often
in recent years, it I do think it would be nice if tools were made available to the public or at least to developers to access this to recover your devices if you happen to go through the process. So, if you need to access older Android 16 builds on your Pixel 10 for whatever reason, do not update your phone. You will not be able to go back to due to this change. For anyone wondering, this is not uncommon, but it is unlikely or it's not something 99% of Pixelers will have to worry about or would even want, but we at least wanted to warn anyone flashing without thinking about it first. Google has some instructions that you can follow, and we'll leave those in the description and in a pinned comment
so you know exactly what to do if you get into a bit of a pickle. Anti-rollback aside, you might notice once again there's no update for the Pixel 6 series. There's no pixel update for the 7 and the 7 Pro. We've no clue why this is the case because the Pixel 7a is getting this OTAA. We can only assume that the Pixel 6 and 7 series uh needs some further patches or maybe need some other things fixed before this update is ready for those units. Google has been kind of really sporadically pushing updates for the 6 and 7 series as of late anyway. So, unfortunately, nothing for you here, but it is more likely that they're going to push an update when Android 17 is available. roll it all into one big OTAA and effectively resolve any problems that
are there. But yeah, it's interesting to see that these are not updated yet. The Pixel 7a is very, very interesting situation. But let's start with something that affects nearly every device in the current stable from the 7A right through to the 10 series. There is a much needed fix for battery and charging. Specifically, Google has addressed an issue where wireless charging speeds would slow down significantly when your battery was sitting between 75 and 80%. It's one of those, and I hate goo the way that Google does this, specific certain circumstances or certain conditions bugs. But for those who rely on a quick wireless top- up, I say quick, a wireless topup, this should make your charging experience a lot more
consistent. What we don't know, sadly though, is if this May patch addresses the battery drain complaints that quite a lot of you out there, specifically those with newer phones, have been complaining about since the previous OTAA rolled out. We haven't had quite long enough with this OTAA installed to determine if the May patch fixes those issues, but there is no mention of it in the change log explicitly, which ordinarily isn't a good sign, and it isn't a good sign that things have been ironed out and sorted out. I am hopeful though. But if you're still having trouble or if you've seen any differences, let me know down in the comment sections below. It's interesting. We there's a lot of you out
there, Pixel users, you can give us and we can crowdsource that information and work out if it has been fixed. Moving over to camera quality and camera fixes. There is a fix here exclusively for the standard Pixel 10, the base model. So, some of you were reporting that the camera app would randomly freeze up while recording video if you try to adjust the zoom level at the same time as recording. If you've ever had a great video ruined by a software hang, this is going to be a welcome fix for you and is definitely a welcome resolution as it's important that your camera works when you're using the functions that are baked into the hardware and the software. So, yeah,
it's nice to see that one being fixed. The display and graphics section of this OTAA is a little bit busier this month, particularly for the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro XL. Those devices are seen a fix for persistent flickering white dots or visual noise that appeared at the very top of displays. Additionally, for the wider Pixel 10 series, the 10, the 10 Pro, and the 10 Pro XL, there is a resolution for an intermittent issue where the screen could sometimes appear fuzzy, frozen, or even display weird noise lines. It's great to see those display quirks being squashed. I haven't seen this on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, but yeah, there are some other issues that I've had resolved here. So, there is a
framework fix for those pesky keyboard issues. If you've encountered them, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. So, if you found your keyboard or input frozen or been incorrectly positioned in certain applications when you've gone from landscape to portrait, I've seen this most ordinarily. This should snap back into place and work as it should. I've actually just had the keyboard disappear when I'm using the app draw search more times than I care to remember recently with the Pixel temporal fold. So, I'm glad that's been resolved with the May OTAA. Beyond the main OS update, we also have some movement on the Google Play Services front. Version 26.17 is rolling out right now and it brings a new warning
screen for those using Dasher accounts and Android desktop devices. I actually have no clue what this is and I completely to be completely honest with you, no idea what this is. But if you use a Dasher account for whatever reason, that's fixed for you. There are also new developer tools for utility processes and there are some bug fixes for Google Wallet, which is always nice to see. I think that's going to be one of those things that constantly gets evolved because more banks start using this service. Pretty sure everyone should be using it by now. Anyway, the Play Store is also getting an update to version 51.3, which adds a handy shortcut to open Google Play Sidekick
directly from your notification drawer within that. Plus, for gamers out there, the ask questions and share advice feature is expanding its language support to include Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, which is always really nice to see as this has expanded quite drastically since it first came out. But that just about rounds out this May update. Uh, for what it's worth, this is likely the last stable Android 16 release before we get Android 17 in the coming weeks, which is going to well, it's not going to be huge, but it is going to be coming likely at the start of June based upon the previous release schedules that we had and especially as
we saw Android 16 a initial release last year in June and then a later QPR release with the after the Pixel launched in August. So, we expect the same sort of cadence to happen this time around. But it is worth noting Google has just announced the preio Android show or Android show IO edition, not sure I like that name, is coming next week and is being built as one of the biggest years for Android yet. We sort of expect Google to reveal or at least detail what is happening with the long rumored Android desktop or Android laptop platform. But I also think it's a really bold statement from Google given just how last year was huge for materials expressive plus the frankly
massive uh well hardware expansion into Android XR and AR glasses. I'm wondering is desktop computing bigger than those. I'm not 100% convinced, but we're very excited to see what is in store and you know we'll be covering everything in detail over here when we learn more on May 12th when the Android show is officially well broadcast. Um, I guess we have to wait and see just what lands in the next week or so. But yeah, rest assured we'll be covering it in detail here on the channel. But let me know down in the comments sections below. Has this cleared up any of those issues,
your charging problems, whatever it happens to be with your device. Hopefully, it's resolved some problems that you may have had lingering on your Pixel phone. And yeah, little bit more to delve into hopefully in the next couple of days. But thanks for watching and I will speak to you later.
