Google Play system update December 2022: what’s new

Google has released a new Google Play system update for Android. The new December version brings a series of improvements and optimizations. We also see a number of improvements for the Google Play Store.

Google Play Update December

A new version of the Google Play system update has been released. Every month Google releases a Play system update that improves various things in Android. Last month, a second Play update was even thrown at it. The Google Play system update is a different kind of update than security updates and Android updates. Google is rolling out this Play update itself to the various devices. However, it is not the case that it can be downloaded immediately, this happens gradually. You can check this manually through the following steps; Settings > information about the phone > software information / Android version > Google Play system update.

We see that the necessary issues are addressed with the December update. For example, there are various improvements for the Google Play Store, Google has a critical fix for issues related to account management, security and stability and we also see improvements for connectivity such as the use of Nearby Sharing or casting. We have listed the entire changelog of the new version below.

Critical Fixes

• [Auto, Phone, TV] Bug fixes for Account Management, Security, Stability and Updateability related services.

Device Connectivity

• [Phone] Update cast-related settings.
• [Phone] Reduce delays in discovering contacts via Nearby share.
• [Phone] Inform the user when casting to a Tablet device needing user interaction.

Google Play Store

• New Features to help you discover the Apps & Games you love.
• Optimizations allowing faster and more reliable download and installation.
• Continuous improvements to Play Protect to keep your device safe.
• Various performance optimizations, bug fixes and improvements to security, stability and accessibility.
• [Phone] You can now view the installation progress of multiple apps and games as you navigate through Google Play.
• [Phone] Automatically archive apps when you need more storage space while preserving your data.

Security & Privacy

• [Phone] Find My Device now supports encrypted last-known-location reports for Android devices, using a new privacy centric framework.

support

• [Phone] New feature enabling users to enter feedback description using voice input. Voice input will be enabled and transcribed only when users shows explicit intent to enter voice by clicking on the input button.

Wallet

• [Phone] Beta feature to allow users from selected US state(s) to digitize their state ID/driver’s license into the Google Wallet for convenient, private and secure presentation.
• [Phone] With Wallet, you can now manage payment cards on your Fitbit device.
• [Phone] An internal feature that allows checking the quality of ID images during customer identity verification for Google products.
• [Phone] Enable Digital Car Key (DCK) feature on Xiaomi.

Developer Services

• New developer features for Google and third party app developers to support Device Connectivity, Location & Context, Maps, and Utilities related developer services in their apps.

System Management

• Updates to system management services that improve device performance, and stability.