Updated
Updated · Droid Life · May 18
Google Rolls Out Play Services 26.19 and Play Store 51.5 With Android 17 Security Defaults
Updated
Updated · Droid Life · May 18

Google Rolls Out Play Services 26.19 and Play Store 51.5 With Android 17 Security Defaults

1 articles · Updated · Droid Life · May 18
  • Google on May 18 released Play services v26.19 and Play Store v51.5, with the updates rolling out gradually ahead of its Google I/O keynote.
  • Play services 26.19 adds a Material 3 Expressive storage-management redesign, Automotive support for Credential Manager, and turns on Remote Lock and Theft Detection Lock by default on Android 17 devices.
  • The same Play services update also expands Theft Protection to newly set up devices in the UK and adds AppFunctions plus other developer-service fixes.
  • Play Store 51.5 brings Play Collections access, gamer-profile name reporting, daily playtime stats on streak icons, feedback on recently played games, and app-content discovery from installed apps.
  • The Android 17 reference lands just before Google I/O, where Google is expected to unveil broader Android, AI and Gemini announcements.
With Google pushing unified logins and UI, is Android's open ecosystem becoming more like Apple's walled garden?
As Google's new anti-theft tech aims to make stolen phones worthless, could this finally end the phone theft market?
How will Google's new AI theft-detection tell a snatched phone from one that's simply been dropped?