14 DAY TRIAL // At least two US-based carriers confirmed new security updates for Nexus devices included in their portfolios. Sprint and Verizon state on their support websites that Nexus 5, Nexus 6 and Nexus 7 devices will receive new updates starting today.
Sprint Nexus 5 and Verizon Nexus 6 should get software version MMB29S on January 4 whereas Verizon Nexus 7 tablet will receive software version MMB29O.
There's no change in OS version, so this is still an Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update. In fact, the changelogs for these updates confirm they will deliver the most up-to-date Android security patch.
Google announced last year that it would release monthly security updates to its Nexus devices, which are meant to address all the bugs and exploits discovered by users or Google engineers during the current month.
The list of issues is already made available to Android OEMs, so they can deliver similar security updates to their own products.
This update includes the January security patch for all the issues discovered last month. It's important to download and install these security patches, as they are patch security holes in the Android operating system.
Nexus devices won't be the only ones to receive the security update
Other Android smartphones are expected to receive the January security update in the coming days, including BlackBerry PRIV, Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy Note 5, as well as some Motorola and HTC smartphones.
Those who own unlocked Nexus devices should get the update as well, but Google is expected to release factory images for each Nexus smartphone and tablet eligible for this security patch.
These factory images haven't been released yet, but once they're available, users can flash them on their Nexus devices without having to wait for the OTA (over the air) update. We'll update the news once Google starts rolling out the update and factory images get published.
Update: Google has just confirmed it has started the rollout of the January update; the search giant also published the full changelog.
Update1: The factory images for eligible Nexus devices have been released on Google's developer website.