‘Google is preparing to upgrade Linux kernel for Pixel phones’

Google is reportedly preparing a kernel upgrade for its Pixel phones with Tensor SoC. This should bring the version of the Linux kernel from 5.10 or 5.15 to 6.1. Kernel upgrades on Android are rare.

Google employees talk about the kernel upgrade in comments to the Android source code, reports Mishaal Rahman. This would involve upgrades for the Pixel 6, 6a, 7, 7a, Fold and 8. The Pixel 9 should also receive the upgrade after release.

Upgrading the kernel should make the phones faster through optimizations in that version. It also makes longer support for the phones easier, which is especially important for the Pixel 8 phones. Google promises support for those phones until 2030; for the Pixel 7 that is until 2027.

Upgrading the kernel can be done as a regular update in Android and does not require any special steps for the user. Google has not confirmed work on the kernel upgrade. It is unknown when that upgrade will be released, but since the Pixel 9 would receive the upgrade after release, it seems that the kernel upgrade could wait another year or more.