{"id":253347,"date":"2026-01-27T01:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T01:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/253347\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T01:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T01:32:11","slug":"whats-new-in-androids-january-2026-google-system-updates-u-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/253347\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s new in Android&#8217;s January 2026 Google System Updates [U]"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t<img width=\"1600\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769477528_248_google-play-services-1.jpg\" class=\"skip-lazy wp-post-image\" alt=\"\"  decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The monthly \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/product-documentation\/answer\/14343500\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google System Release Notes<\/a>\u201d primarily detail what\u2019s new in Play services, Play Store, and Play system update across Android phones\/tablets, Wear OS, Google\/Android TV, Auto, and PC.\u00a0Some features apply to end users, while others are aimed at developers.<\/p>\n<p>The following first-party apps comprise the \u201cGoogle System\u201d:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\"  alt=\"\" data-height=\"2400\" data-id=\"623647\" data-link=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/?attachment_id=623647\" data-url=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/06\/Google-Play-system-update.jpg?quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;w=461\" data-width=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Google-Play-system-update.jpg\" data-amp-layout=\"responsive\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\"  alt=\"\" data-height=\"2400\" data-id=\"623648\" data-link=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/?attachment_id=623648\" data-url=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/06\/Google-Play-services.jpg?quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;w=461\" data-width=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Google-Play-services.jpg\" data-amp-layout=\"responsive\"\/><\/p>\n<p>To update, open the Settings app &gt; tap your name at the very top for \u201cGoogle services\u201d (on Pixel) &gt; All services tab &gt; Privacy &amp; security &gt; System services.<\/p>\n<p>A feature appearing in the changelog does not mean it\u2019s widely available. Some capabilities take months to fully launch.<\/p>\n<p>\tAdvertisement &#8211; scroll for more content<\/p>\n<p>Google Play services v26.03 (2026-01-26)<\/p>\n<p>Account Management<\/p>\n<p>[Auto] With this update, Google Accounts for users under 18 that were unable to sign in to Automotive devices before can now sign in when specific conditions are met.<\/p>\n<p>Security &amp; Privacy<\/p>\n<p>[Auto, PC, Phone, TV, Wear] This update allows account authentication through NFC security keys that support CTAP2.<\/p>\n<p>Utilities<\/p>\n<p>[Phone] You\u2019ll get an improved compatibility when you move your data across devices.<\/p>\n<p>Wallet<\/p>\n<p>[Phone] You can now create digital IDs when needed.<\/p>\n<p>[Phone] Bug fixes for Wallet related services.<\/p>\n<p>Google Play Store v49.9 (2026-01-26)<\/p>\n<p>[Phone] This update collapses subtasks in Organized by AI section in search results.<\/p>\n<p>Google Play services v26.02 (2026-01-19)<\/p>\n<p>Account Management<\/p>\n<p>[Phone] This feature updates the opt-out of supervision process and may require parental approval.<\/p>\n<p>Developer Services<\/p>\n<p>[Phone] New developer features for Google and third party app developers to support Location &amp; Context related processes in their apps.<\/p>\n<p>Device Connectivity<\/p>\n<p>[Wear] This update adjusts text and icons in backup settings on Wear OS devices.<\/p>\n<p>System Management<\/p>\n<p>[Auto, PC, Phone, TV, Wear] Bug fixes for System Management &amp; Diagnostics related services.<\/p>\n<p>Google Play Store v49.8 (2026-01-19)<\/p>\n<p>[Phone] Adds support for real-time updates of unlocked game achievements in the Play Store.<\/p>\n<p>Google Play services v26.01 (2026-01-12)<\/p>\n<p>Developer Services<\/p>\n<p>[Phone] New developer features for Google and third party app developers to support Location &amp; Context related processes in their apps.<\/p>\n<p>System Management<\/p>\n<p>[Auto, PC, Phone, TV, Wear] Updates to system management services that improve Stability.<\/p>\n<p>Wallet<\/p>\n<p>[Phone, Wear] You can now view transactions from other devices and online purchases that use virtual card numbers.<\/p>\n<p>Google Play Store v49.7 (2026-01-12)<\/p>\n<p>[Phone] Allow users to select from multiple prizes instead of receiving a single one.<\/p>\n<p>Android WebView v144 (2026-01-07)<\/p>\n<p>Improvements to security and privacy and updates for bug fixes.<\/p>\n<p>New developer features for Google &amp; 3rd party app developers to support functionality related to displaying web content in their apps.<\/p>\n<p>Important:\u00a0Some features may be experimental and available to certain users.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/9to5google.com\" aria-label=\"Add 9to5Google as a preferred source on Google\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-source-badge-dark\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png\" alt=\"Add 9to5Google as a preferred source on Google\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-source-badge-light\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/google-preferred-source-badge-light.png\" alt=\"Add 9to5Google as a preferred source on Google\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer-affiliate\">FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/about\/#affiliate\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/43RjEnY\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-701536\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769477531_509_iMazing_-WWDC25_9to5mac_750x150@2x-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"140\"\/><\/a>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The monthly \u201cGoogle System Release Notes\u201d primarily detail what\u2019s new in Play services, Play Store, and Play system&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[342,111,139,69,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-253347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}