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.
Many of the best parts of Android – whether running on your phone, watch, tablet, or car – are handled by a core set of Google apps and services that the company has dubbed the “Google System.” The Play Store delivers apps and updates to your device and is also responsible for the occasional Play System Update that keeps core Android components updated without a major system update.
Meanwhile, Google Play Services handles the “smarter” side of smartphones, from background services for notifications and security to user-facing things like Google Wallet. More recently, Google has also lumped other apps into the Google System collection, adding the Android System Webview and the Pixel-only app Adaptive Connectivity Services. Each month, the company publishes a changelog for these apps, gradually updating it as the month goes on. Throughout August, we’ll keep an eye on these Google System Updates and explain what they mean for your Android device.
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.
With August now underway, Google has started up its listing for the August 2023 Google System Updates, albeit with only a few actual patch notes for now. Currently, the most notable detail is that the Play Store is changing the way it displays advertising content. Where there would previously be a small badge that says “Ads,” this is being updated to show “Sponsored.” This should make it even more visually clear that you’re looking at paid content rather than a traditional suggestion or search result.
The Play Store is also set to make it easier for users to report “illegal content” and for developers to track “user sentiment” – a broad look at how an app’s users feel about the app based on reviews – across Android Auto, Android TV, and Wear OS. All of these Play Store changes are set to roll out with version 37.
Google Play System Updates for August 2023
Google Play Store
[Phone] Change ads badge text from “Ads” to “Sponsored” across all of the Play Store surfaces.
[Auto, TV, Wear] Improve your ability to report illegal content and enable user sentiment tracking for apps and Play reviews.
System Management
[Auto, PC, Phone, TV, Wear] Bug fixes for System Management & Diagnostics related services.
[Auto] Updates to system management services that improve Privacy.
‘Google’ preferences in Android Settings getting redesign, shows new Find My Device logo
Google Play Services is responsible for many features on modern Android, and its primary settings menu is now getting a redesign.
Once live, going to system Settings > Google reveals a new two-tab UI. The “Recommended” tab will surface cards that provide a high-level overview of your account and available features. This might include: Backup, Nearby Share, Find My Device, Google Wallet, and Password Manager.
This is a better way for Google to surface relevant suggestions.
Meanwhile, the Find My Device card here reveals the new logo that we previously spotted in June. We see the outline version of the upcoming crosshair icon that evokes radar and scanning, as well as how FMD will soon be home to trackers, tablets, watches, and headphones.
With the Find My Device network launch delayed, we don’t expect this updated branding to appear until then.
The list of “Services on this device” makes up the second tab. It currently includes: Ads, Autofill, Backup, Devices & sharing, Find My Device, Game Dashboard, Parental controls, Personal Safety, Personalize using shared data, Set up & restore, Settings for Google apps, as well as COVID-19 Exposure Notifications. There are no changes here.
This Google settings redesign is rolling out now (h/t Mishaal Rahman), and we’re seeing it with version 23.32.55 of Google Play services after signing up for the beta.
Google Play services ending support for Android 4.4 KitKat
Google shared that Play services is dropping support for Android 4.4 KitKat, which is nearly 10 years old, in August.
When Android devices stop getting monthly OS updates, they continue to receive new versions of Google Play services for quite some time. This backend service powers a slew of capabilities that Google makes available to app developers, while there are also a number of first-party features powered by it. This includes Google Prompt 2-Step Verification and backup.
The Android KitKat (KK) platform was first released ~10 years ago and since then, we’ve introduced many innovative improvements and features for Android, which are unavailable on KK.
As of July 2023, Google says the “active device count on KK is below 1%.” As such, it’s “no longer supporting KK in future releases of Google Play services” beyond 23.30.99 next month. KitKat, with its prominent dessert name, launched in October of 2013 so Google support is ending just shy of a decade.
Play services is specifically dropping support for API levels 19 and 20. One thing of note is that API level 20 was specifically for the initial release of Android Wear.
The last time Google ended Play services support for a release was in 2021 with Android Jelly Bean (API level 16-18). At the time, Google explained how maintaining years-long support requires “increased developer and QA time spent on new features that require special handling.”
‘Google Partner Setup’ update rolling out via Play Store
A new update for “Google Partner Setup,” a required internal Android app, is rolling out now via the Play Store.
While most of the exciting new features for our phones and tablets come from updates to apps or from each year’s major Android release – like Android 14 releasing in the coming weeks – there are also numerous other apps and background programs that help keep your device running smoothly. The most well-known of these is Google Play Services, which is involved in nearly every Google-related activity on Android, but it’s just one of many.
As many are now learning, another such app is Google Partner Setup. According to Google, this app is included on “all Android devices with Google Mobile Services,” providing some core functionality. While this app has been around for years now, it wasn’t until earlier this year that Google published this particular service to the Play Store.
Fast forward to this week, Google Partner Setup has received a new update that is rolling out to potentially billions of Android devices, dating as far back as Android Oreo. The app itself is quite small, and you’ll likely not notice any differences after installing the update.
That said, the company does note that Google Partner Setup is now updatable through the Play Store “so that bug fixes, improvements, and critical updates for your device can be delivered faster.” We assume this means allowing it to be updated without requiring a system update.
• This app is pre-installed by the device manufacturer to ensure proper device functionality on all Android devices with Google Mobile Services; it cannot be disabled or deleted. • Google recently moved this app to the Play Store so that bug fixes, improvements, and critical updates for your device can be delivered faster. No other changes have been made as a result of this Play Store listing. • If your device is running Android 7 or an earlier version, it will not receive an update for this app. This app may indicate that it is not compatible with your device, but this does not mean that the app is malfunctioning or causing your device to malfunction.
Notably, the Play Store listing for Google Partner Setup has already been flooded with one-star reviews claiming that the app’s update is responsible for a slew of issues.
On its own, Android is a strong platform upon which to build products like phones, tablets, and more. However, many of the things that make our smartphones smart come from the apps and services that Google adds on top of stock Android, particularly the Play Store, Play Services, and the monthly “Play System Updates” for core Android components.
Collectively, those three are referred to as the “Google System,” and each month, Google lists the latest updates and changes for them. Over the course of the month, the company will gradually add more notes, and we do our best to catalog and explain them here. So check back periodically to see what’s new.
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
After a messy two months of oddly timed patch notes, Google is now back on track, sharing the first details about the June updates in a timely manner.
First up, Google Wallet is gaining some improvements for foldable phones – perfectly timed for the upcoming launch of the Pixel Fold and the soon-to-be-announced Galaxy Z Fold/Flip 5 generation. One notable detail our team has uncovered is that foldable phones need to be closed in order to make payments or use passes.
Elsewhere in Google Wallet news, the app is adding a toggle that will let you disable the “fun animations “that the service occasionally shows when tapping your phone to make a payment.
Android owners can also expect the “Find My Device network” to arrive in the very near future. First announced at Google I/O, the Find My Device network will make it easy to locate lost devices – phones, tablets, earbuds, and even Bluetooth trackers – with the help of a massive network of Android devices while also maintaining privacy.
Google Play System Updates for June 2023
Account Management
[Phone] New alerts and recommendations to secure your Google Account.
Security & Privacy
[Phone] Find My Device now supports more devices, including accessories, using a new privacy-centric framework.
Wallet
[Phone] GPay support for foldable devices.
[Phone] Control to opt out of fun animations after you complete a payment or use a pass.
System Management
[TV] A reminder dialogue for pending system updates has been added.
The Google System Updates for April 2023 bring improvements to the Play Store, including making it easier to download apps over cellular data.
There’s so much more to an Android smartphone than just the base operating system, as anyone who’s used a phone without Google apps can tell you. The “smarts” that Google brings to mobile devices primarily come from two crucial apps – Google Play Services and the Play Store – and Android’s monthly “Play system updates.”
Each month, the company rounds up the patch notes for these three components and collectively refers to them as “Google System Updates.” Over the course of the month, as new updates are released, the company will fill in the notes with more details. We do our best to monitor the additions and explain the most important aspects, so be sure to check back throughout the month.
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
Despite the month of April being nearly over, Google has only just now shared the first details of this month’s updates. In fact, the company continued to update the March patch notes for weeks after that month had ended.
The first tidbits shared are all focused on the Google Play Store. For starters, if you attempt to install a new app while disconnected from Wi-Fi, depending on your Play Store settings, the download may not begin until you connect to Wi-Fi. In that instance, you can manually choose to begin the download via cellular data, using an option in the app. In the near future (sometime after the Play Store v35.0 update), the option to download over mobile data will also, conveniently, appear in the active download notification.
Meanwhile, another update to the Play Store (version 35.2) should offer “direct access” to Google’s “My Ad Center,” where you’re able to change your advertising privacy settings and/or adjust the kinds of ads that you see. The changelog doesn’t mention where this shortcut will appear, but the Google Account menu (opened by tapping your avatar in the top-right corner) is a likely bet.
Google Play System Updates for April 2023
Google Play Store
New Features to help you discover the Apps & Games you love.
Optimizations allowing faster and more reliable download and installation.
Continuous improvements to Play Protect to keep your device safe.
Various performance optimizations, bug fixes and improvements to security, stability and accessibility.
[Auto, PC, Phone] Users can allow apps and games to download over cellular data from the download notification while waiting for Wi-Fi.
[Phone] With this update, you will have direct access to My Ad Center.
While the most noteworthy updates for Android devices generally arrive on an annual or quarterly basis, Google has steadily worked to make more of Android upgradeable without needing a full-on system update. Rounding up the parts of Android OS updated in each month’s “Google Play system updates,” improvements to the Play Store, and new features of Play Services, Google offers monthly patch notes for what changes on Android devices each month. The company refers to improvements to this particular trio as “Google System Updates.”
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.
Out of the first batch of Google System update notes, the most interesting aspect that the company has shared is that the notification for Nearby Sharing (Android’s AirDrop competitor) is now pinned when it’s shown. As has typically been the case, Google will likely add more patch notes as the month of February progresses.
Google Play System Updates for February 2023
Device Connectivity
[Phone] Pin Nearby Sharing heads up notification to screen when shown.
Google Play Store
New Features to help you discover the Apps & Games you love.
Optimizations allowing faster and more reliable download and installation.
Continuous improvements to Play Protect to keep your device safe.
Various performance optimizations, bug fixes and improvements to security, stability and accessibility.
Developer Services
[Phone] New developer features for Google and third party app developers to support Machine Learning & AI related developer services in their apps.
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