No matter how much Google has tried over the past couple of years, it’s never managed to make Android updates as seamless as iOS updates. On the iPhone, every compatible iPhone across the globe gets the same updates, at the same time.
On Android, it’s anyone’s guess. Google releases the latest and greatest Android updates for Developers and its Pixel devices, and then Android smartphone manufactures get started with developing their own versions. For instance, because Samsung’s version of Android 15 is different from what OnePlus is doing, that can sometimes mean key features don’t show up on your phone until quite a ways down the line.
To mitigate this to some extent, Google has decided to take matters into its own hands, pushing out some security, privacy, and device tracking features to all Android devices at once, using a little known framework called Google Play system updates.
And yes, it’s confusing. It’s not just about the Google Play Store or services, and it’s something that you might never come across on your own. Google doesn’t send notifications about it, nor is it a part of the regular Software Update screen. So what is it, where is it, and why is it so important?
Why are Google Play system updates so important?
Credit: Khamosh Pathak
As I mentioned above, unless you’re on a Pixel, any regular Android update comes straight from your phone’s manufacturer, and not Google itself. This is usually where you get big Android updates, like how Samsung phones got updated to Android 15 with the One UI 7 update.
But the Google Play System updates are different.
It all started in 2019 with Project Mainline, where Google started to split some of the key components of the OS. With this project, Google can enhance Android’s security and privacy features without going through the regular channels. This is why, in the past, Google has been able to push features like Android Theft Detection, Remote Lock, and Offline Lock to all Android phones running Android 10 and above overnight. Something like this just isn’t possible with regular Android updates.
While these are small features, they’re not all that Play System updates give you. Google Play System updates are also responsible for Google Play Protect, the framework that scans and reports malicious apps on the Play Store, plus they add new features to the Google Play Store and Google Wallet.
Unlike a regular Android update, which might show up at any time, Google Play system updates show up every month without fail. You can check out Google’s website to see what’s new each month.
It’s important to make sure you’re getting these. Alongside their new features, they also introduce important security updates and bug fixes to the entire Google Play Services platform.
What do you think so far?