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Google System Updates for July 2023 improve app content discovery and much more
Google Wallet might also get pass sharing
Aside from rolling out the July 2023 Android security patches to the eligible Pixel devices earlier this month, Google has also refreshed its Google System Updates support page to highlight all the changes included in this month's release. The new update brings a handful of Google Play Store improvements, some system management related enhancements, updated device connectivity features, and more.
Google Play system update for October 2022 adds pending update reminder on Android TV, fixes bugs, and more
The Google Play system update for October 2022 offers critical bug fixes, various improvements to the Play Store, and more.
After rolling out the October 2022 Android security patches to the eligible Pixel smartphones earlier this week, Google has now started pushing a fresh new update for the Google Play system. The new release brings several Google Play Store improvements, some Android TV related enhancements, updated system management services, and more.
At its I/O developer conference last year, Google announced it would soon bring Matter support to Android and Nest smart home devices. However, the company did not share a definite timeline for the rollout. At this year's Google I/O, the company finally confirmed that Android 13 would provide support for Matter-enabled devices. Now that Android 13 has finally rolled out on the stable channel, Google seems to have started rolling out Matter device controls to some Android users.For the unaware, Matter is a new universal smart home standard that aims to offer interoperability between smart home devices from various OEMs, including Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung, Philips, and more. With Matter support, smart home devices from these manufacturers would work together seamlessly, allowing users to control connected devices using a single app. Most of these OEMs plan to offer Matter support by the end of this year, but Google has reportedly started rolling out Matter device controls (via Android Police) to some users through Google Play Services.
Google Kids Space receives a much-needed feature with the latest Google Play system update
The Google Play System Update for September 2022 brings Google Kids Space optimizations and account syncing and recovery improvements.
Google has updated its Google Play system update support page to highlight all the changes included in the September 2022 release. The latest update brings a few Google Kids Space improvements, along with a host of Play Store optimizations and bug fixes.
Google Play System Update for August 2022 brings a new AutoFill UI, Material You support for Android Help, and more
The Google Play System Update for August 2022 brings a new AutoFill UI, Material You support for Android Help, and more.
Google has updated its Google Play System Update support page to highlight all the changes included in the August 2022 release. The latest update brings a new AutoFill UI for smartphones, Material You support for Android Help, new features for the Play Pass and Play Points programs, new discovery features for the Play Store, and enhancements for Google Play Billing.
Game Dashboard update arrives for Pixel 6 users on Android 13
Google has updated the Game Dashboard for Pixel 6 and Pixel 6a devices. The feature could arrive to other Android 13 handsets.
It was a little over a year ago when Google revealed its Game Dashboard utility. At the time, it was exclusive to only the Pixel 6. While it still remains exclusive to Pixel devices, a new update has updated the feature on the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6a.
Google Play System Update for July 2022 brings several Play Store updates, Google Wallet rebrand, and more
The Google Play System update for July 2022 brings several new Google Play Store features and improvements, the Google Wallet rebrand, and more!
After rolling out the July 2022 Android security patches to Pixel devices last week, Google has now started rolling out the latest Google Play System update. The new release brings several Google Play Store improvements, the Google Wallet rebrand, new APIs to help developers build seamless multi-device experiences, and more.
Google Play system update for June 2022 includes new Play Pass features, app discovery, and more
The Google Play system update for June 2022 offers critical bug fixes, various improvements to the Play Store, and more.
Another month is in the books, which means it's time for a new set of "Google Play System" updates. While this month's Android security bulletin is yet to go live, Google has already disclosed new features and improvements coming in the June 2022 Play system update. These include everything from Google Play Services, the Play Store, and various other Google-related Android system components.
Google Play System Update for May 2022 brings several Play Store improvements, Self Share for Nearby Share, and more
The Google Play System Update for May 2022 brings a host of new Play Store features, the new Self Share feature in Nearby Share, and much more!
Google has updated its Google Play System Update support page to highlight all the changes in the May 2022 release. The latest update brings a host of bug fixes and improvements, including new features to help you discover new apps and games on the Play Store and enhancements to the Play Store billing system. In addition, the May 2022 update introduces a new web-based device setup onboarding experience for supervised work accounts and the new Self Share feature for Nearby Share that we first spotted earlier this year.
Nearby Share will soon let you quickly share files between your devices without requiring approval
Nearby Share will let you quickly share files across your devices signed into the same Google accounts without having to approve the share.
Nearby Share is Google’s answer to Apple’s AirDrop. It’s a convenient way for Android and Chrome OS users to share files with other devices. The feature uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to send photos, video, links, and other files between Android and Chromebooks, and it works both offline and online. Currently, when you share a file with someone using Nearby Share, the other person has to approve the share request. But soon, you'll be able to quickly share files without needing to approve the share.
Google Play system update for April 2022 brings new features for Play Pass and Play Points, bug fixes and more
The Google Play system update for April 2022 brings new features for Play Pass and Play Points, bug fixes and more.
Google has become more transparent about the Google Play system updates. Earlier this year, the company set up a dedicated page to disclose various features and improvements in each monthly system update. Google usually details and releases new updates at the start of each month. But this time around, we're getting a sneak peek at the upcoming April update.
Scoop: Google could be bringing Air Raid Alerts to almost all Android phones [Update: Confirmed]
Google could be integrating Air Raid Alerts into Google Play Services, according to an APK Teardown. Check out what that means, here.
The current invasion of Ukraine has seen several big tech companies step up and apply varying degrees of pressure on Russia. We've seen Apple entirely stop selling its products in the region, we've seen Meta and TikTok prevent access to state-news broadcasters RT and Sputnik, and we've even seen Google go so far as to suspend monetization on videos within Russia. Google has also been pushing users in Ukraine to install the Ukrainian Alarm app in order to receive air raid alerts, though an APK Teardown has revealed that Google may be working on integrating those air raid alerts directly into Play Services.
Google Play system update for March 2022 updates the Play Games Services profile, fixes bugs, and more
The Google Play system update for March 2022 will bring critical bug fixes, various improvements to the Play Store and more.
There was no way to track features and changes in Google's monthly Play system updates up until this year. That finally changed in January when Google set up a dedicated support page to highlight various changes included in each monthly update. Today, the company disclosed new features and improvements coming in the March 2022 update.
Google Play System Update for Feb 2022 brings Play-as-you-download improvements, critical bug fixes, and more
Google has shared a detailed changelog for the Google Play System update for February 2022. Read on to learn what's new.
Last month, Google published a new support page to highlight all the changes included in its monthly Google Play System updates. Today, the company has updated the page with details about all the changes included in the Google Play System update for February 2022.
Google publishes new support page highlighting Google Play System Update changes
Google has published a new support page summarizing changes introduced with montly Google Play system updates. Read on to learn more.
Along with monthly security patches, Google releases regular Google Play system updates to its devices. But while Google publishes a detailed changelog highlighting all the changes included in each monthly security update, the company doesn't do the same for Google Play system updates. This makes tracking changes a bit cumbersome. To address this, Google has now published a new support page that summarizes all the changes in each Google Play system update.
Googlefier lets you easily install Google apps on Huawei devices
Googlefier is a new third-party GMS installer that lets you easily install Google apps on Huawei devices.
The Google ban imposed on Huawei by the U.S. government has led to the Chinese tech giant's once burgeoning phone business falling off a cliff, because as great as Huawei's smartphone hardware may be, not having access to core Google Mobile Services apps such as YouTube and Google Drive makes the phone's software very hard to use for many people outside of mainland China.
Google preps Digital Car Key support with latest Play services update
Google has started prepping the Digital Car Key feature ahead of the Android 12 stable rollout later this month. Read on to learn more.
In March this year, Google formed the Android Ready SE Alliance to drive the adoption of digital keys and driver's licenses. At I/O 2021 in May, Google then announced that it was adding Digital Car Key support in Android 12 to help you unlock your car with your phone. While the company gave us a brief overview of the feature during the event, we haven't seen any mentions of it in Android 12 beta releases so far. But that might change soon.
Android 11's auto-reset permissions feature is coming to older OS versions
Google is bringing Android 11’s auto-reset permissions feature to all devices running Android 6.0 through Android 10. Here's what this means.
With Android 11, Google introduced auto-revoking permissions that barred unused apps from accessing sensitive permissions granted by the user. While this privacy feature currently remains exclusive to Android 11 and above devices, it will soon be trickling down to older versions of Android — all the way back to Android 6.0.
Google Play Services now lets you delete your advertising ID when you opt out of ad personalization
Google Play Services now lets you delete your advertising ID when you opt out of ad personalization on your Android phone.
Google Play Services generates an advertising ID for all users who opt-in for ad personalization. This ID not only helps Google push relevant ads to users, but it also comes in handy for analytics and fraud prevention. When you turn off ad personalization on your account, Google stops using your advertising ID to push personalized ads, but it still maintains it for other purposes. However, that's set to change soon.
Nearby Share is starting to roll out group transfers and "everyone" device visibility
Android's version of AirDrop, Nearby Share, is rolling out new features, including group transfer support and "everyone" device visibility.
Sharing files between Android phones used to be pretty tricky, because there wasn't always a simple, fast, and unified way to wirelessly transfer files between devices. That changed last year with the launch of Nearby Share, which is essentially AirDrop for Android. The file-sharing service is baked into Google Play Services, which comes preinstalled on most Android devices and Chromebooks with Android support, so pretty much every Android user has an easy way to share files between one another.