Google Play Services update turns on Pixel Watch Express Pay and refreshes Play Shorts

Google is rolling out new Play Services v26.29 and Play Store v52.5 updates to Android users. While backend updates usually fly under the radar, there are a few features that will immediately improve your day-to-day experience across your smartwatch and phone.

The standout addition is that Pixel Watch owners can now set up Express Pay directly from their watch. Google introduced Express Pay for Pixel Watch 2 and newer models in the March 2026 Pixel Feature Drop, and now, with the latest Play Services v26.29 update, you can finally set up Express Pay directly from your Pixel Watch wrist interface.

Elsewhere in the same update, the Connected apps menu item you’ll find across phones, PCs, TVs, cars, and watches is now called Linked apps. It’s a small rename, but it finally matches the terminology Google already uses across its own account help pages, so support docs and settings menus should stop contradicting each other.

If you browse the Google Play Store for entertainment, you will notice a fun new addition in Google Play Store v52.5. Google expanded the Play Shorts feed to include popular comic books. You can now swipe through comic previews inside the feed and tap directly into the full story whenever a title grabs your attention. The same update promises a steadier Play Games Sidekick Dashboard, and updated Engage SDK content clusters let you resume travel searches from integrated third-party travel apps rather than starting over each time.

The rest is mostly under the hood: bug fixes for system management and diagnostics on phones; new developer tools for Maps; utilities and wallet integrations across Auto, PC, Phone, TV, and Wear; and, in Brazil specifically, Gboard support for Pix users in communication apps. None of it changes your day-to-day, but it’s the maintenance that keeps everything else running.