Android: Google will probably remove the update button; system updates might take a backseat

Google has become increasingly involved in recent weeks update problems to fight around Android, which appear in many categories of the operating system and therefore also the Google system updates to affect. These appear to be limited at the moment and many users are now reporting that the update dialog, including the button for manual verification, has completely disappeared.

We are in the last third of August and so far this month there has only been one Google system update that has not been very extensive. This could be explained by the holiday season or the parallel launch of Android 13, but it can also be related to the general delays in updates these weeks. Because Google does not make official or unofficial statements, one can only speculate.

These days, many users are reporting that the Google System Updates update dialog has completely disappeared. The special page within Android settings usually includes a dialog that lists the date of the last update, the version of Android, and a button to check for new updates. Now this is no longer available and instead the date of the last update is displayed directly in the overview.

If an open update is available and it is not yet installed, the behavior changes back. The entry can then be selected again and the update dialog opens, as you can see in the second set of screenshots below. Download and install, the installation history and the button to reboot the smartphone are there as usual.