❤ October Google System Updates: Connect Wear OS to multiple phones and more

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With Android 14 and Wear OS 4 both now fully released, this month’s Google System Updates showcase a few other improvements coming for our phones, tablets, and smartwatches, including the ability to connect a Wear OS watch to “multiple phones.”

Aside from the major annual updates to Android, Wear OS, and Google TV, devices based on Android also receive numerous monthly upgrades delivered through the Play Store. Core components of Android can be updated through “Play System updates,” while new versions of Google Play Services, Android System Webview, and the Play Store keep even older phones feeling fresh.

Google rounds up the various improvements to these apps/services – collectively called the “Google System” – each month and publishes the patch notes. The company will often add new details throughout the month, and we do our best to keep track and explain the most important ones here.

The easiest way to check whether you need to update Google Play Services on your phone is to follow a direct link to the app’s Play Store listing and update from there, if available. To update the Play Store, tap your avatar in the corner, then “Settings.” Under the “About” section, you’ll see an option to “Update Play Store.” Meanwhile, Google Play system updates can be found through the Settings app, under About phone > Android version > Google Play system update.

 

 

Updating Google Play Services

 

 

Updating Play Store

 

 

Updating Play Store

 

 

Updating Play System

 

 

Updating Play System

 

 

Thus far, many of the patch notes for October 2023 have been fairly minor, but a few key details have stuck out to us. For starters, Google notes that Play Services version 23.39 enables the ability to connect a Wear OS watch to “multiple phones seamlessly.” We currently assume that this is referring to Wear OS 4’s ability to transfer your watch from one phone to another without needing to reset the watch.

Meanwhile, Play Services 23.40 is set to tweak where the files you receive via Nearby Sharing are saved. Before the change, incoming files and photos are saved to a dedicated “Nearby Share” folder inside your Downloads folder. The company doesn’t specify where files will now be saved, and this version has not yet been rolled out to our devices.

In the Play Store, as of version 37.8, there will be a “new design on the app details page,” which Google says will make it easier to “discover and learn about” apps for your other Android devices, like your watch, tablet, gaming handheld, etc.

Android WebView

  • Improvements to security and privacy and updates for bug fixes.
  • New developer features for Google & 3rd party app developers to support functionality related to displaying web content in their apps.

Developer Services

  • [Phone] New developer features for Google and third party app developers to support Utilities related processes in their apps.

Device Connectivity

  • [Phone] Support to connect your watch to multiple phones seamlessly.
  • [Phone] Content received over Nearby Share is stored in a new location.
  • [Phone] New developer features for Google and third party app developers to support Device Connectivity related processes in their apps.

Google Play Store

  • [Phone] New design on the app details page to help you discover and learn about apps for your non-phone devices.
  • [Phone] You’ll be able to add apps to your Google Play library directly when apps ask Google Play to download new content or functionality.
  • [Phone] Payments legal documents being shown on a dedicated acceptance screen that the user must accept to proceed with the purchase.

Wallet

  • [Phone] Route Google Wallet notifications through the Google Wallet app, if present.

System Management

  • [Auto, PC, Phone, TV, Wear] Updates to system management services that improve Stability.
  • [Phone] Updates to system management services that improve Device Connectivity, Network Usage, Security, Stability, and Updatability.
  • [Phone] Bug fixes for System Management & Diagnostics related services.