Japan’s Pixel 8, 9, and 10 Series Receive Update for Mobile Software Competition Act

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📝 Key Points of This Article

• Google Japan has released a software update for 12 devices in Japan—the Pixel 8a, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 9a, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold—to comply with the “Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act” enacted by the Japan Fair Trade Commission on Thursday, December 18, 2025.
• Specifically, the update addresses the “free choice of browsers and search engines” provision within the Act.
• The update also improves system stability, including fixes for battery drain issues and display touch responsiveness bugs.

On Friday, December 19, 2025, Google Japan began rolling out a software update for 12 Pixel devices sold in Japan—the Pixel 8a, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 9a, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold. This update is designed to comply with the “Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act,” which was enacted on Thursday, December 18, 2025, by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC).

This “Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act” compliance update for the Pixel 8, Pixel 9, and Pixel 10 series is a special Japanese edition of the second December 2025 monthly update. It follows the first December update released on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, which included the “Android 16 QPR2” minor OS update. According to information released by the US carrier Verizon, this second December update for these series includes three primary bug fixes: a fix for faster-than-normal battery drain, a fix for display touch issues (particularly on the Pixel 10 series), and a fix for issues accessing locally stored content when updating from Android 14 to Android 16 QPR2. For the Japanese models, the update further incorporates the mandatory compliance measures for the Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act.

Specifically, the update supports the free choice of browsers and search engines provision of the Act, resulting in the display of a selection screen (choice screen) for browsers and search engines.

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Additionally, information released by SoftBank indicates that if the second December update is applied to a device currently on build “BP4A.251205.006,” it will address the rare occurrence of battery drain. For devices already on a higher build number, the update focuses on general stability improvements. While there are slight differences in the details provided by Verizon and SoftBank, the core of the update remains the same: improvements for battery drain, enhanced stability including display touch fixes, and compliance with the Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act.

Upon applying the second December 2025 monthly update to Japanese models of the Pixel 8a, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 9a, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the build numbers will be updated. The Japanese Pixel 9a, Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold will move to “BP4A.251205.006.C2,” while the Japanese Pixel 8a, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold will move to “BP4A.251205.006.E1.”

Source：SoftBank