Just a few weeks ago, the new Google system updates were announced for all users and at the end of the first month, Google again added a whole range of new features: There is a whole raft of other improvements for the Android platform, of which not only smartphone users benefit. Other devices with Android offshoots from smartwatches to smart TVs are also getting improvements.
Just a few days ago, we introduced you to the Google System Updates, which are automatically rolled out to all users via the Google Play Store without them noticing. These updates in the background, mainly for Google Play Services, have been around for many years, but the whole thing has only been transparently communicated since this year. So far it was not even clear how often such updates are made or when it was last rolled out.
At first we thought the updates would be monthly as listed on this page, but that wasn’t the case, at least in January. After the first rollout in connection with the security update, the second batch of improvements was rolled out on January 14th, which are not really exciting, but some small details on smartphones, smart TVs, tablets or Wear OS and on the car platforms improve. Now, or with the date of January 28th, there is the next momentum.
As I said, it is not known whether this is a special feature or whether such updates have already been made several times at short intervals. Below is the list of new updates for the month of January. The next momentum should follow as early as next Monday, with another Android security update just around the corner.
Account Management
- [Phone, Tablet] Notifications from Family Link on a child’s device can be forwarded to parental controls via Android settings in the two-pane view (foldable and large-screen devices only).
- [Phone, Tablet] Parents who help supervised children sign in on their device now have the ability to remotely install Family Link on their own device as well.
Google Play Store
- Improvements to the “Play While Downloading” feature, which allows you to play a mobile game while it’s downloading to reduce waiting time.
Wallet
- [Car, Tablet, TV, Wear OS, Phone] Enables the purchase, digitization and use of supported UK pay-as-you-go (saved credit) tickets.
System Administration
- Daylight saving time support changes in different countries.
Developer Services
New capabilities for Google and third-party app developers to support, among other things, display, analytics and diagnostics, machine learning and AI, and security and privacy-related processes in their apps.