Keep those changes coming
It’s always great when a software company is open and honest about what’s changing in new versions, from the smallest app developer all the way up to, well, Google. And despite some recent changes that have made it more difficult to see update logs on the Play Store, it’s continuing on with listing out monthly patches to Google System Updates.
For March, the company is hitting all sorts of aspects to its services, from mobile apps to developer-focused tools, although the actual list is rather unclear. Some of the changes are further improvements to stuff we’ve seen before, like play-as-you-download games that help reduce wait times after picking up a new title from the Play Store. Other points covered are exceptionally vague, like “new features” added for better app discovery.
Still, there are a couple of concrete points worth highlighting. Play Games Services profiles now have better privacy management tools, which is always a welcome improvement. Meanwhile, Google has made the user experience for NFC-enabled devices smoother, with enhanced feature education for newcomers to mobile payments. It should build well on last month’s changes to Google Pay.
If you’re interested, here’s the complete list of patch notes:
Critical Fixes
- [Auto, Phone, Tablet, TV, Wear OS] Bug fixes for device connectivity, developer services, safety & emergency, and utilities related services.
Games
- [Phone, TV] With the update to the Play Games Services profile, users will be able to better manage their privacy settings.
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.
Wallet
- [Phone] Improved user experience and feature education for NFC/HCE-enabled devices.
System Management
- Updates to system management services that improve device connectivity, network usage, stability, security and updatability.
Developer Services
- New developer features for Google and third party app developers to support ads, accessibility, analytics & diagnostics and machine learning & AI, and security & privacy related developer services in their apps.
You can check these out in more detail — as well as explore previous monthly updates — by heading to Google’s support page. We’re only a few months into the company’s initiative to provide additional details for system changes each month, but already, it’s a welcome addition to the usual roundup of Android monthly patches.
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