Amidst the many Pixel updates that get released each month, Google rolls out frequent Google Play system updates to the best Android phones, as well as updates for tablets, Wear OS watches, Android Auto, and other Google-certified Android devices.
The changelog featured on Google's support page name-checks improvements across several different devices, so you can be fairly sure your device is covered, alongside the many Pixel phones. These updates fix bugs, whilst also adding innovative new features to phones' central OS services, such as location, contact/data syncing, and anything else that's part of the core OS.
Steady improvements
With all the festivities kicking about, you may have missed the December 2021 update that delivered various improvements, including boosts to "battery life, device connectivity, network usage, privacy, stability, security, and updatability," according to 9to5Google.
The January 2022 update builds on this: not only does it add improvements for the timezone management system, but there's now newly-included support for "new daylight savings time transition changes in several countries."
Updates on tap
To confirm the Google Play system version that's installed on your Android phone, you can head over to Settings, Security, and then tap Google Play System update. According to the folk at 9to5Google, the option is stowed away under Settings > Biometrics and security > Google Play system update on Samsung phones.
Updates tend to be automatically installed in the background of the device and then take effect after your phone has restarted, so be sure to keep an eye on any changes as they occur after rebooting your phone. Anyone who is interested in future updates can stay abreast of these through the official Google Support page, which will detail all the available monthly updates moving forward.
