Over the past couple of days, we have come across many reports about the Verizon variant of the Pixel and the Pixel XL. The two devices, reportedly come with a few Verizon apps pre-installed, but unlike most bloatware, these can be uninstalled. But now it appears that there is something else which may annoy the user much more.
According to 9to5Google, the Verizon phones will get system updates from the carrier, and not directly from Google. What this basically means is that these updates could be delayed for the phones, hopefully only slightly. Google will still manage security updates for the carrier locked phones. This is likely because of the presence of the pre-loaded Verizon apps, which the carrier could patch, before releasing the system updates, to prevent crashes or other issues.
Here is what a Google spokesperson told 9to5Google.
Monthly security updates will come from Google (for all models), and system updates will be managed by Verizon for Verizon models, and Google for unlocked models bought from Google Store.
So, the unlocked Pixels will get security updates and system updates immediately. And since the unlocked variant is priced the same as the Verizon phones, you may be better off buying the unlocked Pixel or XL, and you can still use it with a Verizon SIM.
