With Star Trek: Generations gave him an emotion chip in an attempt to make him more human, it didn't feel like a true evolution for Data's character or for Soong's androids.
While Data died in Star Trek: Nemesis (and then again in Picard season 1), it is revealed in Star Trek: Picard season 3 that Dr. Altan Inigo Soong (Brent Spiner) had been able to save Data's consciousness. Altan Soong then combined the minds of Data, Lore, B-4, and Data's daughter Lal (Hallie Todd) into a brand-new, synthetic body. Not only did this new version of Data have a more realistic appearance, he was also able to experience emotions in a much more organic way. He had finally become the best version of himself and achieved his main goal from those TNG days - to become more human.
Data Completes Star Trek’s Android Evolution
Even before Data was introduced in "Encounter at Farpoint," androids made an appearance in several Star Trek stories. The androids encountered during Star Trek: The Original Series were either built by advanced alien civilizations or were copies of people who had actually existed. The androids built by Dr. Soong were the first truly successful androids in the Federation, and Data was the best of these. Though Star Trek told a few cautionary tales about the dangers of artificial intelligence, Data was a testament to the positive ways the technology could be used.
Star Trek: Picard season 1 introduced new, upgraded Soong androids who were more human-like than any before them. In Soji and Dahj (Isa Briones), Dr. Altan Soong had finally perfected a synthetic body nearly indistinguishable from that of a human, but Data was still the creation that Altan's father Noonian Soong had been most proud of. Data was the best example of an android Noonian Soong had to offer, and while other beings may have improved upon certain aspects of the technology, they were not a replacement for Data. The version of Data from Picard season 3 was a culmination of years of work that began when Dr. Noonian Soong first tried to create a lifelike android.
How Star Trek: Picard Evolved The Soong Android
The synthetic androids of Star Trek: Picard season 1 were created using just one of Data's positronic neurons. Some of them were so indistinguishable from humans that they initially didn't even recognize themselves as synthetic. Dahj and Soji were implanted with memories of childhood and parents, and they were unaware they were synths. At the end of the season, some of the androids sought to save themselves from the "organics" and allow all organic life to be wiped out. These androids were missing a crucial aspect of Data's personality - his empathy.
Even though the Data of TNG was unable to experience emotions traditionally, he still cared deeply for his friends and the of his crew. He looked up to humans and never saw himself as being above them. It's Data's caring nature that made him the perfect fit for an advanced synthetic body. Even after all of these years, Data remains a triumph of technology and a realization of the dreams of Dr. Noonian Soong. It may have taken a long time, but in Star Trek: Picard season 3, Data finally received the synthetic body and human emotions he deserves.