In summary:
- Google Pixel devices are receiving a January Android 16 security update that fixes battery drain, touchscreen unresponsiveness, and GPU issues including AOD flickering.
- Tech Advisor reports this update addresses Webex call noise problems and Live Universe wallpaper deletion bugs across Pixel 7a through Pixel 10 Pro Fold models.
- While the patch provides essential stability improvements, users shouldn’t expect major new features until the next Pixel Drop expected in March.
The January Android 16 update has commenced rolling out. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
Google has appeared to revert to its original quarterly Pixel Drop schedule of late, which means that it’s only rolling out major feature additions every three months.
January is not one of those months. The January 2026 update is a simple security patch, bundled together with a handful of bug fixes.
One of the latter relates to a fix for noisy ringback tones during Webex calls, as well as an issue with battery draining in certain conditions.
There are fixes for three GPU problems, including an AOD flickering issue, and one when editing HDR photos in the Adobe Lightroom app (pretty niche, that one). Google is also promising various general improvements to GPU performance.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
If you’ve found your Pixel phone’s touchscreen randomly stopping working in certain situations, this January patch could be your saviour.
There’s also a fix for a bug whereby deleting a Live Universe wallpaper could cause the Wallpaper and style app to become unusable, necessitating a reboot.
Google says that the January update is rolling out now to all eligible Pixel devices running on Android 16. It then lists all of the devices, starting from the Google Pixel 7a and running right through to the current range-topping Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
We’re not entirely sure why the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series (other than the Pixel 7a) have been omitted here.
The January 2026 Google Pixel Update is rolling out now on the aforementioned devices. If you haven’t received a message to that effect, head to Settings > System > Software updates > System update and tap Check for update.
After December’s major update, we’re expecting the next big Pixel Drop to land in March.
Author: Jon Mundy, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Jon is a freelance journalist who got his start covering mobile games at the dawn of the App Store. He has since covered everything from smart home tech and laptops to food and culture, but always seems to return to his fascination with smartphones.