Google has begun rolling out its August Android 17 update, delivering bug fixes aimed primarily at the Pixel 10 lineup while leaving several older Pixel phones off this month’s stable release.

The update brings the Android 17 security patch level to 2026-08-05 and is available for Pixel 8 and newer models, including the Pixel 8a, Pixel 9 lineup, Pixel 10 lineup and Pixel 10a.

Google said users will receive a notification when the update becomes available, but they can also manually check for it through their device settings. The global build version is CP2A.260805.005, while supported Rogers devices in Canada will receive CP2A.260805.005.A1.

Focused Fixes for Pixel 10 Series

Unlike some monthly updates that introduce major changes, the August patch focuses on bug fixes and performance improvements, particularly for newer Pixel 10 devices.

Google’s update notes list three main improvements:

• A fix for crashes affecting certain gaming apps under specific conditions on Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Pixel 10a.
• General GPU performance improvements under certain conditions for Pixel 10 models.
• A fix for an issue that could cause the touchscreen to become unresponsive on affected Pixel 10 devices.

Google also patched CVE-2026-0163, a high-severity elevation-of-privilege vulnerability affecting the Video Processing Unit, reducing the risk of unauthorized privilege escalation on affected devices.

Older Pixel models miss this month’s update

Notably absent from this update are the Pixel 6, 6 Pro, 6a, 7, 7 Pro and 7a. Droidlife flagged the gap, pointing out that support consistency for the Pixel 6 line has been slipping and that the phone is expected to lose update support altogether in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Google is also testing further ahead: Android 17 QPR2 Beta 2 is rolling out to Android Beta Program participants on devices as old as the Pixel 6a, according to a report from Mezha. That beta build reportedly restores automatic Bluetooth reconnection, fixes a Gemini-related crash bug, and addresses stray notifications, though Google hasn’t published a formal changelog.

No major security changes, but updates still matter

The August Android 17 patch does not include broader Android security fixes beyond the Pixel-specific bulletin. However, Google continues to recommend that users install the update to receive the latest protections and improvements.

Pixel users can check for the update manually by navigating to Settings > System > Software updates > System update. Because rollout timelines depend on carrier approvals and device models, Google notes that users will receive an automated system notification once the OTA (over-the-air) installation package becomes available for their specific build.

Related News: Leaked Pixel 11 marketing materials point to a new HiLight notification feature, while a claim that one model can reach 55% charge in five minutes has raised questions ahead of the Aug. 12 launch.

Suno, the service that allows users to create AI-generated songs, today announced new tools to mark tracks made on its platform, limit downloads, and update community guidelines to prevent copycat songs. The changes come as Suno faces numerous lawsuits from labels and artist bodies.

In a blog post, co-founder and CEO Mikey Shulman shared core principles and said that the platform wants to promote original creation while enabling more people to make music with its AI tools.

One of the key points of contention involved users uploading AI-generated songs on other streaming platforms and gaming the system to earn revenue. Suno said that now it will use audio watermarking and fingerprinting to prevent misuse on other streaming platforms. It’s not clear if Suno will use an existing system like Google’s Synth ID or adopt a new one, and the company did not say when contacted by TechCrunch about this.

The startup also signed an agreement with lyrics provider Musixmatch to use its Sentinal system for copyright detection, the blog post said.

“These tools are designed to be durable and resistant to tampering, without affecting the listening experience. They are also not intended to pass judgment on whether a song is good, meaningful, or sufficiently human,” said Shulman in the blog. “Ultimately, we believe it should be up to artists and platforms to decide what they want to disclose. Our role is to build tools that give them transparency options and make it easier to collaborate across the industry.”

The company added that it plans to add a new download policy to bar mass distribution on streaming platforms, but the company declined to provide details.

Suno has also changed its community guidelines to explicitly prohibit “deceptive audio presented as real” and “using a real person’s voice or likeness without permission” to prevent copycats.

The company, which raised $400 million in a Series D funding round in June, is fighting legal battles on many fronts. The startup is in a lawsuit with the Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Group in a case co-ordinated by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Late last month, a German court ruled in favor of a government-mandated licensing agency, GEMA, and said Suno was breaking copyright rules.

Separately, 404 Media reported that Suno experienced a data breach in November 2025, which revealed that the platform scraped YouTube, Deezer, and Genius to train its models. Later, data breach notification service Have I Been Pwned said that the data breach affected 55 million users. The startup now faces a class action lawsuit in Massachusetts, which alleges that the company overlooked security measures to focus on profit.

Sidd Motwani, Ian Anderson and Shivaditya Sinha spent years building the behavioral intelligence infrastructure behind Spotify’s recommendation engine. Called Vector AI, the system is designed to predict a person’s intent and next actions instead of relying only on their past behavior. It powers about 90% of Spotify’s recommendations to its 800 million users. 

Now, the three are bringing a similar system to e-commerce with their new startup, Malachyte. The company on Thursday said it had raised $10 million in seed funding to scale distribution and hire more product and commercial leaders.

Malachyte was formed from the belief that most online stores treat shoppers the same way: Personalization is largely dictated by historical purchases, demographic segmentation, or logged-in customer profiles. That means first-time visitors often see the same generic storefront as everyone else, while existing shoppers receive recommendations based primarily on what they bought previously rather than what they need today.

The startup wants to change that by building real-time, intent-aware shopping experiences. Its platform uses what it calls “two-headed Vector AI” to predict what product a shopper wants next, learn their general taste, and fine-tune continuously based on what they do in real time. 

“[Our] system starts forming before the first click, using the context available the moment the page loads. Within a single session, we build a real read on both preferences and what someone is trying to accomplish right now,” Motwani, Malachyte’s CEO, told TechCrunch.

“A search for ‘heavy-duty boot’ followed by two clicks on steel-toed boots is enough to move work pants and gloves up the page and push dress shoes down, with no account or history required. Every additional action sharpens the profile, so the experience gets more relevant the longer someone stays, and again on their next visit.”

Motwani argues that retailers already possess their most valuable source of customer intelligence, but rarely take advantage of it in real time.

“Every hover, click, scroll, search refinement and add-to-cart is a signal, and most systems either never act on it in the moment or aggregate it into a segment overnight. We read it continuously, so each action makes the user’s vector more confident about both preference and current intent,” he added. 

He also believes contextual signals remain significantly underutilized.

“A phone visitor at 11 p.m. from an email link is in a different state of mind than the same person on a laptop mid-morning, and most systems treat them identically,” Motwani said. 

The company has been developing and testing its technology since 2024, and worked with more than 20 enterprise customers across travel, grocery and retail before ultimately focusing on e-commerce. 

Its platform first went live in the fall of 2025 with Fun.com. Since June 2026, it has been generally available to Shopify merchants through a native integration, while larger retailers can integrate the technology through its API.

Looking ahead, Motwani says the bigger opportunity is in bringing merchandising and marketing together around the same understanding of customer behavior.

The funding round was co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Gradient, with participation from Harpoon Ventures.