Wallet loyalty card tweaks, more
Google’s March 2023 system updates give you more control over the loyalty/rewards cards in your Google Wallet and more.
On its own, Android is a great platform for everything from phones and watches to TVs and car infotainment systems. But what really makes Android devices shine is Google’s ever-improving suite of apps and services, especially the Play Store and Google Play Services. Beyond that, Android now offers monthly “Play system updates” that bring new features and keep people’s devices secure without the need for a full system update.
Each month, Google collects everything that’s changed with each update to Play Services, Play Store, and Play System updates — collectively called “Google System” — and shares patch notes, with new details coming throughout the month. In particular, these patch notes will often refer to features that haven’t been released yet, although it’s always good practice to keep your devices up to date.
The easiest way to check if 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. In the “About” section, you will 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.
The first set of patch notes for March 2023 is pretty thin, containing only two pieces of information. The most notable of these is a change in the way Google Wallet handles loyalty/rewards cards. In the app today, you can choose to let Wallet automatically import any loyalty cards that appear in your Gmail inbox.
Until now, the only way to remove that type of card from Wallet was to delete the original email from Gmail. Starting with Google Play Services version 23.08, you’ll soon be able to manually remove any unwanted loyalty cards from Wallet without having to delete an email.
Update 3/8: While Pixel phones are still waiting for the March 2023 security patch, this month’s Google system updates are moving forward. The latest patch notes mention a new set of animations that will appear when you make a payment with Google Wallet. These were announced late last month with Google showing an example of two penguins sharing fish.
Meanwhile, a new change to the Play Store will make it easier to install new apps on your other devices. When you install, you should be able to choose to also install an app on connected devices like a Wear OS watch, Chromebook, or Android tablet. These changes should be coming in the near future and require updating to version 34.8 of the Play Store.
Google Play System Updates for March 2023 Google Play Store New features to help you discover the apps and games you love. Optimizations that allow faster and more reliable download and installation. Continuous improvements to Play Protect to keep your device safe. Various performance optimizations, bug fixes, and security, stability, and accessibility improvements.
[Phone] Users will have the option to automatically make apps they’re installing on phones and tablets available on other connected Android devices, such as the Watch, TV and Chromebook. portfolio
[Phone] Wallet users can selectively exclude loyalty cards imported from Gmail.
[Phone] New animations appear after successful tap and pay transaction using Google Wallet. System Management
[Auto] [TV] [Phone] [Wear OS] [PC] Updates to system management and usability services that improve battery life, device storage, and network usage.
[Auto] [TV] [Phone] [Wear OS] [PC] Updates to system management services that improve stability.
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