Google Play Services Could Soon Make Tracking System App Updates Much Easier (APK Teardown)
Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Play Services could soon get a new “System services” section.
- This section will help track updates for core Android system apps, ensuring they remain up-to-date.
Over the past few years, Android OEMs have decoupled many important system app updates from being part of their firmware. Instead, OEMs now increasingly rely on the Google Play Store to ship system app updates, which helps deliver these crucial app updates to entire lineups without requiring a full firmware update rollout. However, for you as a user, these system app updates end up residing in the same place as your regular app updates, so there’s no quick way to ensure that all important system app components are updated. Google is working to make this easier with the new “System services” section in Google Play Services.
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An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
Google Play Services v25.11.32 beta includes code referencing a new System services section that will seemingly allow you to keep track of updates to important system apps. This System services page will show up if any system services require an update. We’ve managed to enable the feature to give you an early look:
In case of an update, the options will direct you to the Google Play Store, which is also preparing to accommodate this System services change. In fact, we have already seen the new minimal design for app listings for certain core system apps, which show only basic information about the app.
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
These new listing pages remove the feedback mechanisms and prevent users from review-bombing system apps they don’t completely understand. The System services option in Play Services will lead you to these minimal Play Store listing pages, as these system app listings will not show up through a regular search in the Play Store.
Combined, these changes make it easier to locate and follow updates to core system apps and make it abundantly clear that these core system apps are necessary for essential system features. However, there’s still room for Google/core system app developers to use more descriptive and easy-to-understand language in these listings to educate users on what precisely these apps do. After all, you don’t want the user to ordinarily remove updates to these apps either, and the only good way forward is by fostering more trust.
Neither the System services page nor the minimal app listings are live yet. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more.
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