Pixel 6 misses Android 17 QPR2 beta rollout

Google has opened the Android 17 QPR2 beta cycle for Pixel devices with Tensor chips, but two notable phones are missing: the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.

Those two models, released in 2021, were the first Pixel flagships to use Google’s in-house Tensor processors. Their absence suggests Google is drawing its usual line between Pixel generations. According to the source, Google has already extended the life of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro beyond what it originally promised, but those devices are now nearing the end of their remaining update runway.

The beta is instead available for newer Pixel hardware, including phones, tablets, and foldables:

• Pixel 6a
• Pixel 7, 7 Pro, and 7a
• Pixel 8 and 8 Pro
• Pixel 9 and 9 Pro
• Pixel 10
• Pixel Tablet
• Pixel Fold

The exclusion of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro is not especially surprising from an Android support perspective. Older devices are often the first to drop out of early beta builds, partly to avoid carrying over bugs that matter less for upcoming releases.

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For Pixel 6 owners, that shifts attention away from beta testing and toward the final official updates still due to the phones. If Google’s schedule holds, the final version of Android 17 QPR2 will arrive first on current Pixel models, while the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro remain outside the beta program entirely.