Major kernel update might be heading to Tensor-powered Pixel phones

Google is reportedly planning a major kernel update for its modern Pixel devices, something that is quite rare in the smartphone segment, as a potential necessary move to comply with its new extended software support policy.

As spotted by Android expert Mishaal Rahman, Google could update the Linux kernel of all its Tensor-powered Pixel devices to v6.1. The company’s engineers allegedly left notes in a recent AOSP patch indicating that they are working on it for the future.

Currently, Pixel devices powered by the Tensor G1 and G2 chipsets integrate the Linux kernel v5.10, while devices powered by the latest Tensor G3 integrate a slightly more current version (v5.15). The source points out that the Google Pixel 9 series that will arrive this year could be launched with the same Linux kernel v5.15, but they would receive a later update to the aforementioned kernel v6.1.

Some of the main advantages of receiving a major kernel update are that the device can get software support for longer, in addition to including new features more easily. As a reminder, Google significantly extended its software support policies with the launch of the Pixel 8 series, offering up to 7 years of big Android updates for these devices.

Therefore, the possible rollout of a major kernel update for Tensor-powered Pixel phones could be in line with this new policy, since maintaining older kernel versions could complicate compliance with such a long update period.

At the moment, it is not known when this possible update of the Linux kernel could arrive on the company’s devices, and there is no word from Google about it either. However, since the source points out that even the Pixel 9 series could be launched with the v5.15 kernel to receive v6.1 in a later update, we could still be several months away from the rollout.

Source