The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, the latest Samsung foldables, launched in July running Android 14 and version 6.1.1 of One UI. Since then, they have received regular security updates from Samsung, but for some reason, they have not been getting any Google Play system updates.
For those unaware, Google Play system updates are updates released by Google for all Android devices to make them more secure and reliable by updating key core elements of the Android operating system and important Google apps such as the Play Store.
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Samsung's security updates, which are released monthly or quarterly for most Galaxy devices, are often bundled with new Google Play system updates. They don't always come with the latest version, though, which is why Google offers the option to manually update to the latest Play system update.
Fold 6 and Flip 6 running older Google Play system update versions than older Galaxy devices
Which is where the problem lies for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6: they are stuck on Google Play's April system update. Newer versions were not included in the software updates Samsung has released for these foldables since they went on sale. They aren't available for manual download, either.
What's ironic is that older Galaxy that received all of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6's software features through the One UI 6.1.1 update after the new foldables went on sale are now running newer versions of the Google Play system update than the latest Samsung foldables.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 received Google Play's June system update with One UI 6.1.1. Devices like the Galaxy S23 and S24 got the August version. But that's not all: on most of these devices, users can manually grab Google Play's September system update by heading into the Settings » About phone » Software information menu and tapping on Google Play system update.
It's unclear why the Fold 6 and Flip 6 are on outdated versions of the Google Play system update. These updates aren't as critical as the security updates that come from Samsung, but it's not a good look when the latest flagships from a company aren't running the latest software in every way, shape, and form.
