GoKawiilAamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
TL;DR Google has updated Play Services and Play Store with new features.
The Play Store will give users the option to add an app’s widgets to the home screen during installation.
Google will also soon roll out the ability to display a phone’s IMEI number on the lock screen.
Google has released new updates for the Play Store and Google Play Services, bringing a bunch of under-the-hood improvements and new features to both, including a feature we’ve previously spotted under development.
Play Services update brings IMEI to your lock screen The latest version of Google Play Services (v26.28) is here, and users can now choose to display their device’s IMEI number on the lock screen. This can be helpful for lost or stolen phones. However, prominently displaying a phone’s IMEI number can also allow malicious actors to track or clone the device. Fortunately, it seems Google will leave it up to users to decide whether they want their IMEI displayed on the lock screen when the feature rolls out.
IMEI on the lock screen seems to be a server-side rollout. As such, it’s not yet available on several of our devices, even with the latest version of Play Services.
Other new additions with the Google Play Services update The Play Services update also adds a couple of other quality-of-life improvements: apps can now ask for audio permissions in WebViews. This can be useful when a user taps a link that opens in a WebView within the app. Previously, if the linked webpage required audio permissions, it couldn’t request them, so it wouldn’t work properly.
On Android TV, the new update adds support for the Android Credential Manager. This will let users easily access saved passwords and passkeys on their TV. It also gives the option to use a phone for passkey authentication.
Here’s the full changelog for Google Play Services v26.28: Account Management [Phone] This update adds support for audio permission in WebViews. [Phone] This update adds support for device manufacturers to launch storage management and subscription flows.
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