Google Play updates What's New

Google has begun previewing the latest changes to Android as part of its November Google Play system updates, including improvements to Wallet and Parental Controls.

Update: Google is bringing the updated photo picker to almost every Android device, including fairly old ones.

While major Android updates usually arrive on a yearly basis more or less an occasional mid-year release like Android 12L Google is constantly improving the experience on phones, tablets, wearables, and more.

These improvements come from a suite of apps/services that the company calls the "Google System," namely the Play Store, Google Play Services, and monthly Android operating system updates.

Follow a direct link to the app to see whether you need to upgrade Google Play Services on your phone. Update from the Play Store listing there, if one is accessible.

To update the Play Store, tap Settings after tapping your avatar in the corner. The Update Play Store option is located in the About section. Under About phone > Android version > Google Play system update in the Settings app, users can find Google Play system updates.

Google has started sharing what to expect from the November batch of changes although details of the official gaming system update have yet to be released starting with changing parental controls in Android. Previously, no supervised user (or child account) on an Android device could change the device's clock, making it difficult to bypass time restrictions.

With the latest game services update, this clock change restriction is only active for those who have a certain time limit, otherwise it allows clock change freely.

Moreover, Google is making some changes to Google Wallet, allowing those who accept the payment service to customize the Wallet logo. In addition, app/web developers will have new ways to "deep link" into parts of Google Wallet.

Update 03 November: Google has now announced that Android's revamped Photo Picker UI which debuted with Android 13 is now available for almost all Android devices. According to the patch notes, phones and tablets dating back to Android 4.4 KitKat, released in 2013, will be able to use the Android 13 photo picker.

Google initially stated that the new look would only be available for Android 11 and later-running smartphones. It seems the business has now figured out how to include it in Google's November system updates by bundling it with Play Services version 22.43.

Update 10 November: According to the latest set of release notes, version 22.45 of Google Play Services includes a "significant" fix related to account management on Android phones. Although this update is installed automatically, you can manually check for updates through the Play Store menu.

Speaking of the Play Store, it looks like Google has prepared "new layouts" for Play Store search results.

Meanwhile, Google Wallet is receiving more tweaks and improvements this month, including an expansion to "all Felica enabled devices in Japan." There will also be some improvements to the way the app handles SMART Health Cards.

Update 17 November: More "System Management and Diagnostics" patches are on the way, Google has announced, building on the "important" fixes released earlier this month. Google Wallet is also set to get "significant improvements" for using your Android phone as a digital car key, as is available on phones like the Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Meanwhile, the Google Play Store is getting a new feature that aims to fix the occasional issue of app update causing an unexpected crash. While developers often aim to make sure that their apps work on as many devices as possible, sometimes these types of issues can occur. It is not yet known exactly how it will work, but the Play Store should help you get access to a working version of the app.

Other additions to the Play Store include changes to the Kids menu for tablets, changes to "playgroup" on ChromeOS, and the ability to automatically update apps over mobile data if you don't have access. Wireless.

Google Play system updates for November 2022

Decisive reforms

• Bug fixes for services related to account management.
• Bug fixes for system management, diagnostics, and utility-related services.

Account management

• Allow supervised users who do not have time limit features enabled to change the device clock.
• Google Account Switcher design update.

Device connection

• Nearby Share
• will now appear on the top line as a sharing option.

Google Play Store

• New features to help you discover the apps and games you love.
• Improvements that allow for faster and more reliable downloads and installations.
• Continuous improvements to Play Protect to protect your device.
• Various performance improvements, bug fixes, and security, stability, and accessibility improvements.
• New formats for search results.
• Play Store Game Collection offers updates for Chromebooks.
• Updated kids menu format on large screen devices.
• Allow automatic updates on limited mobile data from Google Play apps for users who don't have regular WIFI access.
• Help users fix app crashes with new update prompts.
• Archive apps when you need more storage while keeping your data.

Wallet

• Allows merchants to dynamically create a GPay button to customize.
• Updated API to allow map placement to be linked to other Google Wallet screens.
• Improvements to SMART Health Card support in Wallet.
• users can selectively exclude loyalty cards imported from Gmail.
• Extended FeliCa push support to all FeliCa enabled devices in Japan.
• Verification notification for users who make online transactions using the GPay button.
• The limit goes to one device or user.
• Major improvements affecting the function of the digital car key.

Developer services

• Enable photo picker support on Android 4.4.
• New developer features for Google and third-party app developers to support account management and developer services related to machine learning and AI in their apps.

System administration

• System management services updates that improve device connectivity, network utilization, security, stability, and upgradeability.
• Support for the new DST change in Fiji and Mexico.