After rolling out the this month's Android security patches to the eligible Pixel smartphones last week, Google has now laid out some of what Android users across the globe can expect from the January 2023 Google Play system updates, including improvements to Play Protect.
In addition, the January 2023 update brings along several under-the-hood optimizations to make the app download and installation phases as seamless as possible. Furthermore, beyond the generic patch notes provided each month by the Play Store team, there are some developer-focused changes coming to Android’s Device Connectivity related services. Play Games profile will also receive a couple of enhancements with the latest Play System update that should be enough to expand the range of use cases.
Here are all the changes in the Google Play System Update for January 2023:
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Games
- [Phone, PC] Expanding the range of users and use cases supported by the Play Games profile.
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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.
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Developer Services
- [Phone] New developer features for Google and third party app developers to support Device Connectivity related developer services in their apps.
So far, there doesn’t seem to be too much in the way of interesting new user-facing functionalities. With that said, the company is expected to come up with more fixes and features as the month progresses.
In order to see the benefits of the aforementioned improvements, you’ll need to ensure that your device has the Google Play system update for January, version 01.23 of Play Services, and version 33.5 of the Play Store, all of which should begin rolling out as of January 5.