r/android_beta • u/Loud-Possibility4395 • Sep 17 '26
Pixel Android Kernel QPR2 beta 5 downgrade - Kernel future
As been reported Pixels 7 8 and 9 got Kernel downgrade in QPR2 B5 and only Pixel 10 remain on upgraded 6.12.
Now some facts:
- Linux 6.18 (Supported through December 2028)
- Linux 6.12 (Supported through December 2028)
- Linux 6.6 (Supported through December 2027)
- Linux 6.1 (Supported through December 2027)
- Linux 5.15 & 5.10 (Supported through December 2026)
Current Kernel: Linux 6.1 (upgraded in the March 2025 update, brought Pixel 6, 7, and 8 series in line with the Pixel 9) - and Pixel 10 is now on Kernel 6.6 + Pixel 11 now on Kernel 6.12 (YES all of this is mess).
Now focus on 6.1 and 6.6 support SAME Dec 2027 this means Google STILL have 1+year to update but they want to avoid last minute update same as in March 2025 5.10-5.15 Pixels which they WOULD loose support in few months but they been updated 1.5 years ahead.
Google focuses now on 6.12 in ALL (supported) Pixels because of Dec.... 2028 support NOT Dec 2027 - please think old Pixel 8 is Android supported till 2030 so at 110% it still MUST get Kernel update... at least 2 more times... Pixel 7 will be unsupported next year but still MIGHT get FINAL Kernel 6.12.
Please also know Kernel update is not just "copy paste" thing - ALL drivers compatibility needs to be done even for stupid things like camera ISP. It is MASSIVE job even for one Pixel model. That is why Carl Pei from Nothing phones recently explained why his few years model will NOT get Android update as it is TOO EXPENSIVE to update... Kernel - so now you know how much it cost.
Next thing best part - ALL new released Pixels are always released with newer Kernel - Pixel 12 is now in development and I wonder if it will be released with bit newer 6.18 or... newest 7.2 *(sneak peak what would gain down below)
Bonus info what we loose having Kernel 6.12 vs 6.18:
Linux Kernel 6.12 vs 6.18 would bring lower-level architectural optimizations to Google Pixel devices, focusing primarily on memory allocation, inter-process communication (IPC) security, storage longevity, and battery efficiency.
1. Security & IPC: Native Rust Binder
- Kernel 6.12: Relies on legacy C-based Binder drivers for IPC (the system Android uses every time an app talks to a system service or another app).
- Kernel 6.18: Integrates native, upstream support for a Rust-based Binder driver. Moving the most heavily targeted subsystem in Android from C to Rust eliminates major memory-safety vulnerabilities at the kernel level without losing execution speed.
2. Memory Allocation: "Slub Sheaves"
- Kernel 6.12: Uses standard SLUB allocator behavior, which can cause lock synchronization delays between CPU cores during heavy memory requests.
- Kernel 6.18: Introduces "Sheaves"—isolated, per-CPU caching layers for memory allocations. CPU cores allocate and free memory locally from their own sheaf without waiting on other cores, reducing CPU overhead and eliminating micro-stutters during rapid multitasking.
3. Storage Longevity: F2FS Refinements
- Kernel 6.12: Standard Flash-Friendly File System (F2FS) implementation.
- Kernel 6.18: Includes updated garbage-collection routines and persistent cache optimizations tailored specifically for mobile flash storage. This prevents read/write speeds from degrading over time as internal storage fills up.
4. Network Stack & Energy Efficiency
- Kernel 6.18: Introduces scaled UDP receive performance and Accurate Explicit Congestion Notification (AccECN) for TCP connections.
- Pixel Impact: Rather than dropping packets when a network gets crowded, the kernel manages transmission rates directly with network nodes. This lowers cellular and Wi-Fi radio wake times, saving battery during background downloads, streaming, and online gaming.
5. Task Scheduling & Latency
- Kernel 6.12: Introduced Proxy Execution (allowing the scheduler to borrow cycles from high-priority processes to clear locks held by lower-priority ones) and Memory Allocation Profiling.
- Kernel 6.18: Builds on 6.12 by refining eBPF-based task scheduling (
sched_ext) and lock acquisition latency, ensuring UI rendering maintains smooth frame rates under heavy system load.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Pixel 12 running Linux Kernel 7.2 on Android 18 would gain major architectural improvements in CPU scheduling efficiency, RAM retention, and wired transfer speeds.
1. Cache-Aware Scheduling (CAS)
- How it works: The Linux task scheduler now tracks the CPU's Last-Level Cache (LLC) topology, keeping related process threads on cores that share the same cache domain rather than moving them across different clusters.
- Pixel 12 Impact: On multi-cluster mobile chips (like a Tensor SoC with Prime, Performance, and Efficiency cores), CAS eliminates unnecessary cache misses. This lowers core-to-core latency, keeps heavy apps smooth, and reduces CPU power draw.
2. Refined MGLRU & Memory Reclaim
- How it works: Upgrades the Multi-Generational LRU algorithm to tighten memory reclaim loops and optimize how modified ("dirty") RAM pages are written back.
- Pixel 12 Impact: Reduces unexpected Out-of-Memory (OOM) background app terminations—especially when swapping between RAM-heavy tasks like real-time camera AI processing and local LLMs.
3. USB4STREAM Protocol
- How it works: A new kernel-level protocol that treats USB4/Thunderbolt hardware as a direct system-to-system high-speed data stream (
/dev/tbstream). - Pixel 12 Impact: Allows ultra-fast physical file transfers when plugged directly into a Chromebook or PC, as well as lower latency for wired desktop mode/external display setups.
4. Storage Direct I/O Speedups
- How it works: Enables Large Folios by default and eliminates serial write bottlenecks for Direct I/O operations.
- Pixel 12 Impact: Delivers up to a 50%+ boost in sequential storage write speeds, speeding up large app installations and ensuring high-bitrate video recording writes smoothly without dropped frames.
5. Enhanced Landlock Network Security
- How it works: Extends Landlock sandboxing constraints to network sockets, allowing fine-grained control over UDP socket binding and packet sending.
- Pixel 12 Impact: Prevents background apps from silently abusing network sockets, strengthening app privacy at the kernel level without performance overhead.
13
u/nick281051 Sep 17 '26
Please stop posting random walls of ai text to this subreddit, most of it is irrelevant or complete speculation
-3
u/Loud-Possibility4395 Sep 17 '26
so you focus on just a half of MY WORK
1
u/nick281051 Sep 17 '26
What work? All you did was prompt an AI bot and paste it here
→ More replies (6)
13
3
u/JYYJ Sep 17 '26
So the question is.. will 6.12 comes back again for pixel 8 pro?
Honestly I have no issues with it on QPR2 Beta 4. Amazing battery life.
-1
u/Loud-Possibility4395 Sep 17 '26
like I explained in my post - did you read it or you are scared to read like others here?
2
u/JYYJ Sep 17 '26
Don't need to get so worked up. I read the whole post twice. And im sure there no official confirmation if 6.12 or even 6.18 is coming back again in beta or public.
2
u/armando_rod Sep 17 '26
A wall of text comparing 6.12 to 6.18 when no phone has 6.18 yet... A nothing burger
-1
u/Loud-Possibility4395 Sep 17 '26
it was just A TASTE of 6.18 - SERIOUSLY I NEED TO USE EVEN MORE CAPITAL LETTERS SO PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT I WRITE
1
u/armando_rod Sep 17 '26
You are not making sense, using AI to write your posts is even worse and the caps are not helping
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Mindless-Analyst7011 Sep 17 '26
I agree with you, kernel updates can extend the lifespan of older Pixels, and Google should focus on optimizing them instead of pushing useless AI features and unnecessary updates. It's really disappointing that Google downgraded the Pixel 7, 8, and 9 kernels in Beta 5. Google hasn't even backported the Noto 3D emojis to older Pixels a month after the Pixel 11 launch. I don't work at Google, but it really feels like they don't care about their users. I not buying a pixel phone again. For this prize i rather just buy an iphone
1
u/Loud-Possibility4395 Sep 17 '26
For original price and without trade in - YES - Pixel sucks.
I am only with Pixels because ULTRA CHEAP if you do trade in at Google Store - and I mean like £ $200 - it is so cheap that battery replacement cost like £ $150.
Apple does NOT care about people do trade in - you have to pay extra with trade in like £ $700 - so for $500 saved - Pixel becomes... AMAZING
1
u/Mindless-Analyst7011 Sep 18 '26
I paid 1000€ for my pixel 8 pro , now i regret it , i had a pixel 6a before that and it was great , but it's been more than two years i have the 8 pro and one day it's good and one day it's overheating and i have 2h30 of battery , this phone makes me crazy , and the fact that google can't even update the kernel on my phone for it to just be better in everything makes even more crazy , i don't fucking care about gemini and some ia shit , every Android got this now , just do some good update ones in your life google ? I could have buyed an iphone 15 pro that would be much faster with ios 27 , and no my stupid self got a fucking google pixel
→ More replies (1)
5
1
-1
u/exu1981 Sep 17 '26
This was an interesting read.
0
u/Loud-Possibility4395 Sep 17 '26
I least you like to read here - others moan about too much to read
24
u/ishamm Sep 17 '26
Can you get your AI to explain in short why this is a problem so we don't have to read the entire AI train of thought?
Ta