Sideload or wait for the update? That’s the question.
Android 7.1.1 is slowly rolling out to the Google Pixel and select Nexus devices, with Google updating its factory images and over-the-air (OTA) pages to reflect the new builds.
Unified under the NMF26x brand, the build numbers vary per device — the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 9, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and Nexus Player are getting Android 7.1.1 at the same time — but the release should contain largely the same content, upgrading the Nexus line with many of the same improvements seen on the Pixel when it shipped with Android 7.1. The Nexus 6 is, unfortunately, still on Android 7.0, but it received the first version of Nougat considerably after the rest.
How to get Android 7.1.1 Nougat on your Nexus or Pixel right now
The improvements may seem minor — official support for app shortcuts, round icons, and image keyboards, among others — but it’s great that, but for a few exclusive features like Assistant and certain Moves gestures, the most recent Nexus phones are now feature complete next to the Pixels.
The NMF26 builds also bring into question why some Canadian Pixel owners received an update in late November to build NPF26J which, though it included new Moves gestures, kept the build on Android 7.1. It looks increasingly like the apparent test build was issued to a larger subset of users than initially intended, or that the OTA files, which were made widely available, were meant to stay private. Either way, the NMF26x builds should bundle those two new Moves gestures and a number of bug fixes into a more universal release.
Have you received the Android 7.1.1 update, or sideloaded it onto your Pixel or Nexus device? Let us know in the comments!
Android Nougat
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkr8wEEdWh0?modestbranding=0&html5=1&rel=0&autoplay=0&wmode=opaque&loop=0&controls=1&autohide=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&enablejsapi=1]
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Google Pixel + Pixel XL
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FCNA-RwRBQ?modestbranding=0&html5=1&rel=0&autoplay=0&wmode=opaque&loop=0&controls=1&autohide=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&enablejsapi=1]
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