You know that feeling when your phone just works? When the haptics respond with satisfying precision, the display flows like butter, and the battery lasts through your busiest day without breaking a sweat. That’s the Pixel experience at its best, but for some users who jumped on the Android 16 QPR2 update earlier this month, that smooth operation hit a few unexpected bumps.
Google’s moving quickly to fix things. The company is quietly rolling out a second December 2025 update specifically for Pixel 8, 9, and 10 series devices, and it’s targeting two of the most frustrating issues that can ruin your daily experience: battery drain that’s faster than it should be, and touch response that occasionally just doesn’t register.
When Your Battery Just Won’t Keep Up
Imagine starting your day with a full charge, only to find your Pixel 10 hitting 20% by mid afternoon with normal use. That’s exactly what some users reported after installing the early December Android 16 QPR2 build. The battery was draining noticeably faster than before the update, cutting into screen on time and forcing more frequent charges throughout the day.
This wasn’t just minor inconvenience stuff. For people who rely on their phones for work, travel, or just staying connected, unexpected battery drain changes your entire relationship with the device. You start watching the percentage tick down, calculating whether you’ll make it through your next meeting, wondering if you should carry a power bank you didn’t need before.
Verizon’s changelog for the new update confirms it explicitly targets “faster than expected battery drain,” which means affected users should see their screen on time return closer to what they experienced before the Android 16 QPR2 update. It’s a focused fix for a problem that really impacts how you use your phone day to day.
Touch Response That Sometimes Misses the Mark
Then there’s the touch issue. Some Pixel 10 owners found their taps or swipes occasionally wouldn’t register at all. You’d try to scroll through Instagram and nothing would happen. You’d tap a link and the phone would just sit there. It was intermittent, which almost makes it more frustrating because you never knew when it would strike.
Touch responsiveness is one of those fundamental things you don’t think about until it doesn’t work right. When it’s perfect, you feel connected to the device. The glass responds to your finger with immediate feedback, scrolling feels natural, typing flows smoothly. When it’s off, even slightly, the whole experience feels broken.
The new build addresses what Verizon’s documentation calls “touch unresponsiveness” and “intermittent touch failures observed specifically on Pixel 10.” This fix comes at an interesting time, actually, just after Google promised to tackle years of Pixel pocket dialing issues that have plagued some users. It shows the company is paying closer attention to these touch related problems that can make or break the daily user experience.
A Small Update With Big Implications
The patch itself is surprisingly small, around 25MB, which tells you it’s targeted specifically at these issues rather than being a major system overhaul. It’s currently appearing mainly on Verizon models of the Pixel 8, 9, and 10 series, with build number BP4A.251205.006.E1 for supported devices.
What’s interesting from an industry perspective is how quickly Google is responding here. The first December update only rolled out earlier this month, and this follow up is landing just days after coverage praised Android 16 QPR2 for finally unlocking Pixel 10 performance. It highlights a pattern we’ve seen with new Pixel flagships, they often need multiple updates before they feel fully polished and optimized.
Carrier documentation also mentions a fix for issues accessing locally cached or offline content, which appeared for some users who jumped straight from Android 14 to Android 16. Outside of Verizon’s notes, there’s no official expanded changelog yet, so there might be minor stability tweaks riding along with the same build.
What This Means for Your Daily Use
From a consumer standpoint, here’s what matters. If you’ve been dealing with battery life that feels shorter than it should be, this update should help. Your screen on time should return to more normal levels, meaning you won’t be searching for outlets as often throughout your day.
If you’ve experienced those frustrating moments where your taps or swipes don’t register, scrolling, typing, and gestures should feel more consistent after you install this patch. That immediate, responsive feel that makes modern smartphones so satisfying to use should be restored.
It’s worth noting that this update isn’t yet available on Google’s factory or OTA image pages, and it may remain limited to certain carriers or regions initially. Some users won’t see it immediately when they check System Update, but it’s rolling out now for Verizon models and will likely expand to other carriers soon.
The Bigger Picture of Pixel Updates
This rapid response tells us something important about where Google is with its Pixel update strategy. The company is getting more aggressive about correcting post update bugs quickly, rather than letting them linger until the next scheduled monthly patch. That’s good news for anyone who values software stability and prompt fixes.
It also reflects a broader conversation happening in the Pixel community about software complexity. As phones get smarter with more AI features and advanced capabilities, sometimes the basics like battery life and touch response can get overlooked. Quick fixes like this show Google is listening and responding when those fundamentals need attention.
For users wondering about long term support, Google continues to offer extended update commitments for Pixel devices. This quick follow up patch demonstrates they’re not just promising updates, they’re actively monitoring performance and addressing issues as they arise, even if that means pushing out an extra update between the regular monthly schedules.
The takeaway here is simple. If you’ve been experiencing battery or touch issues on your Pixel after the Android 16 QPR2 update, relief is on the way. Keep an eye on your System Update settings, and when that 25MB patch appears, install it. Your phone should return to delivering that smooth, responsive, all day experience that made you choose a Pixel in the first place.
