June’s Google Play system updates for Android bring new support for Thread/Matter devices, along with a handful of additional security fixes for our phones and tablets.
Quite a few of the core features we all love and enjoy about Android are powered by Google Play Services, and more recently Google has also leveraged the Play Store and “Google Play system updates” to bring select features from new versions of Android to older phones. Every month, Google outlines what new features and enhancements to expect from the latest updates to what it calls the “Google System,” steadily updating the page with new additions.
The easiest way to check whether you need to update Google Play Services on your phone is to follow a direct link to the app’s Play Store listing and update from there, if available. To update the Play Store, tap your avatar in the corner, then “Settings.” Under the “About” section, you’ll see an option to “Update Play Store.” Meanwhile, Google Play system updates can be found through the Settings app, under About phone > Android version > Google Play system update.
With the month of June only just getting underway, the release notes for this month’s Google System updates are currently slim and generic, focusing on security issues. All of the current notes are identical to what we’ve seen for the last few months, but with time, Google will surely unveil what’s in store.
According to the page, to get the full benefits, you’ll need to install the June Google Play system update, version 30.3 or newer of the Play Store, and version 22.26 of Google Play Services.
Update 6/14: Google has added to the release notes for June’s Google System update, revealing that the latest version of Google Play Services includes support for “storing and sharing” details of Thread network devices. If you’re unfamiliar, Thread is one of the underlying technologies behind Matter, the upcoming smart home standard backed by Google. Ahead of I/O, Google leadership spoke up about the use of Matter and Thread in Google Home and how the two will improve everyone’s experience in the smart home.
Elsewhere in the notes, Google also mentions that the “Sync UI System” on Android phones has been updated with the latest Google Material design, likely suggesting a Material You overhaul.
Update 6/17: In the latest change to the Play System Update notes, we learn that Google Password Manager will soon be available through a new shortcut on your Android home screen. The feature is rolling out now, having appeared on one of our devices.
In the settings for Password Manager in the Google app, you’ll find a new option to “Add shortcut to your home screen.” Tapping the new shortcut opens directly to your full list of the passwords that are saved into your Google Account.
Update 6/27: Google updated the patch notes over the weekend, to add a few extra details. The most critical new mention is that Wear OS devices are gaining support for Fast Pair ahead of the Pixel Watch launching this fall.
Beyond that, the newest notes talk about various Google apps sending notifications related to your account security. The Google Play Store is also set to gain “new features” to discover new apps and games to install.
Update 7/1: In what will likely be the final updates for the month, Google has included two new tweaks to the June Play System Update notes. For starters, it’s mentioned that you can now use a URL to open Google Password Manager, though in our testing this capability doesn’t seem to be live yet.
The built-in help and support tools on your Android phone are also set to gain what Google calls “Promoted Product Links.” After installing the newest update of Play Services Beta, version 22.26, we didn’t notice any immediate differences in Google Help, but be sure to reach out if you see anything new on your end.
Google Play System updates for June 2022
Critical Fixes
- [Auto, Phone, Tablet, TV, Wear OS] Bug fixes for account management, and system management & diagnostics related services.
Account Management
- [Phone, Tablet] Enabled Google account related critical security alerts within Google apps.
Device Connections
- [Phone, Tablet, TV] Add support for storing and sharing Thread network credentials.
- [Wear OS] Fast Pair on Wear OS to allows previously paired headphones to be discovered and connected to wearables.
Google Play Store
- Improvements to Play-as-you-download feature to let gamers start playing mobile games while the app download continues to reduce waiting times.
- New Features to help you discover the Apps & Games you love.
- Optimizations allowing faster and more reliable download and installation.
- New features to the Play Pass and Play Points programs.
- Enhancements to Google Play Billing.
- Continuous improvements to Play Protect to keep your device safe.
- Various performance optimizations, bug fixes and improvements to security, stability and accessibility.
Security & privacy
- [Phone] Support for shortcuts to the Password Manager.
- [Phone] The Google password manager can now be accessed through a URL.
Support
- [Phone] This release adds Promoted Product Links to GoogleHelp.
Utilities
- [Phone] Updated Sync UI System with the latest Google Material design.
System Management
- Updates to system management services that improve device performance and stability & performance.
Developer Services
- New developer features for Google and third party app developers to support ads, and developer features related developer services in their apps.
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