Source: Joe Maring / Android Central
What you need to know
- Google is now rolling out the November 2019 security patch for Pixel phones.
- The Pixel 4, specifically, is getting improvements for Smooth Display.
- There's also the usual array of patches/fixes to secure any vulnerabilities.
It's a new month, and in the Android world, that means a new security patch. On November 4, 2019, Google began rolling out its November 2019 patch to the Pixel 2, 3, 3a, and 4 series of devices.
You'll find the usual assortment of bug fixes and security patches in this month's update, but what really stands out this time around are the Pixel 4-specific features.
Taking a look at the Pixel Update Bulletin, Google calls out two functional updates that have piqued our interest — improvements to the camera and 90Hz Smooth Display.
There's not much to go on here, with Google simply noting that the update includes "Smooth Display improvements" and "Camera quality improvements." There's been some criticism regarding Google's decision to limit the Pixel 4's Smooth Display from not operating when the screen brightness is below 75%, so we're interested to see if that's being addressed in this patch or not. Some reports are coming out to indicate that the 90Hz feature now stays engaged as long as the Pixel 4's screen brightness stays above 45%, but I can't yet confirm this on my end.
As for Google's other devices, the November 2019 patch also brings better Google Assistant hot word detection to the Pixel 2 and 3 lineups, improved speaker quality for the Pixel 3, and better mapping for the Xbox controller for the Pixel 2, 3, 3a, and 4.
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