Google starts deploying Android updates via the Play Store

Google is starting to roll out Android updates from the Play Store. Changes identified in the application's source code point to an interface that allows the system to be updated directly from the store just like any other application. A Reddit user confirms these changes, screenshot in support, after receiving an update Android Q Beta 2 from the platform.

The fragmentation of Android is still a problem in 2019. Google has multiplied initiatives in recent years to accelerate the deployment of updates to all compatible devices. This is the goal of the Treble project which is slow to bear fruit. For Pixels and Android One smartphones, Google wants to facilitate even more access to updates by deploying them directly via the Play store.

Android updates can be installed directly from the Play Store

As usual, 9to5Google has decompiled the APK of the latest version of the Play Store and found lines of code that describe an interface for search for Android updates and install them directly without going through system settings. This new feature is tested for the moment with the beta of Android Q. It is highly likely that it will be deployed in the final version of the OS.

The question that now arises is what types of devices will be eligible. As explained by 9to5Google, it is noted that this feature is available to Google Pixel and Android One smartphones. This seems logical in that the firm does not control the modifications and deployments made by the manufacturers. But it could be that they have access to the interface of the Play Store to distribute their updates.

Finally, we can already see the effectiveness of this novelty since a user of Reddit posted a screenshot of an update of Android Q Beta received directly from the Play Store on his Pixel.

" I just received an update notification, not like a regular system update. It was more like an application update. My phone has restarted automatically afterwards ".

The user also explains that the installation was much faster than the usual deployment method. Progress was displayed in the notification bar like any traditional application update, as you can see in the screenshot below.