If you access the new Google Search Console report, the Index Coverage report, you’ll see a notation around July 14 about a “Google Search Update.” It’s about a system change to the reporting within Google Search Console, and not about the algorithm update that happened last week. It was noted by Google that it upgraded the Index Coverage report to a “new, more accurate system.”
Because Google wrote it as “Google Search Update”, there is the possibility that SEOs, webmasters, publishers and site owners are going to be confused about the terminology added to that screen in Google Search Console. This isn’t about a Google search algorithm update, but about a reporting update to Google Search Console’s Index Coverage report.
According to Google, between the July 14 and August 1, 2018, the data in the Index Coverage report “was estimated from the known August 1 values.” This is because Google was unable to record index coverage data between those dates. Google wrote:
The Index Coverage report switched to a new, more accurate system. Because of this, you may see changes in your reported index coverage. This does not reflect any changes in your site, but a more accurate accounting system.
The system switch began on July 14 and finished on August 1, during which [time] we were not able to record index coverage data. Index coverage data between July 14 to August 1 was estimated from the known August 1 values.
It’s a good idea to ignore the data between July 14 and August 1, 2018. There may even be some changes in the reporting from before July 14 and after August 1, due to how Google is now measuring and reporting on the indexed URLs within Google Search Console.