To be entirely fair, the option (at least on my Play store) gives options of "Do not auto-update apps. // Auto-update apps at any time. Data charges may apply.

To be entirely fair, the option (at least on my Play store) gives options of "Do not auto-update apps. // Auto-update apps at any time. Data charges may apply. // Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi only." It could easily and even possibly be fairly argued that there's a massive difference between updating 3rd party apps and updating the operating system itself. The Play services were originally an immutable part of the core OS, but it meant that security updates relied on the manufacturer to push updates, which were useless useless at doing. I am minded that everyone would laugh at me if I took an un-patched Windows XP system on the internet, yet using ancient Android 4 is still common place. A PC can function offline where as most people can't isolate a phone (from multiple networks) without loosing the core functionality. The PC can be blank; phones usually contain all sorts of personal and private information. Personally I want OS's to leave me the hell alone, but actually, I can't really blame them for trying to protect their users.