Allo’s launch very much came and went, but not before introducing a very nifty — or depending on how you look at it, annoying — feature. App Preview Messaging allows those who don’t use Allo to send replies when messaged by someone from the app. Google is now opening up the Google Play Services feature and letting other messaging apps implement it.
With the way security currently works, Google alerts users of new sign-ins to their account via email. The measure is a means of keeping users secure by informing them of what’s happening with their accounts in real-time. Starting today, users will be alerted of new sign-ins through notifications sent directly to their Android device.
Announced last August, the Mobile Vision API allows app developers to detect faces in images and video. The API was briefly removed, however, and today it makes a return as part of Google Play Services 9.2. A new Text API has also been added and will give developers access to optical character recognition.
One of Google’s approaches to the Internet of Things involves placing low-energy Bluetooth beacons that can communicate with devices. Google is announcing new partners today who have updated Android apps that can talk to beacons placed in stores, museums, and airports.
According to a report by Tech.Sina, Google will finally bring its services in to China. Lenovo chief, Chen Xudong claims Google is on track to bring its Play Services to the nation at some point in 2016, and that its desire to do so isn’t a secret. Google wants its services back in China, but has faced strong opposition from the government in the past, heavily restricting its presence there.
While Android has long been the dominant smartphone platform in China, Google’s presence there is still very limited. In fact, Google Play Services are practically non-existent. Before the Nexus 6P was built, it was rumored by a reliable publication that Google had chosen Huawei specifically because of its influence in China. With Huawei being a Chinese brand, and the biggest seller of smartphones in the country, its influence is huge. What’s more, Google also recently partnered with (and took a minor stake in) Mobvoi, one of the most widely-used and advanced Chinese AI and voice recognition companies.
Clearly, with Android being the most widely-used smartphone OS in China, Play Services aren’t required or critical to the platform’s success. Bringing Play Services in to China would mostly be an effort to help end fragmentation in a country where multiple app stores exist for Android.
No specific timeframe was given in terms of when we might see Google Play back in China. One can only assume getting the service approved takes multiple jumps over political hurdles and cutting through endless miles of red tape. We’ll keep you updated when/if there’s any more to share on the issue.
With the latest version of Google Play services rolled out, the Android Developers blog is detailing what new features this update brings. Version 8.4 introduces an easier way for users to share their favorite apps, a more accurate way to determine location, and new APIs for fitness data.
Google has updated its Play Services to allow developers to make use of some very useful new enhancements to the overall experience of using Android. Google Play Services 8.3 includes updates to the way users sign in to apps, as well as new functionality for app invites, wearable data layer APIs and improvements to location services…
If you’ve been waiting patiently to get your grubby hands on Android Pay, it looks like your time is coming. While it’s not exactly functional quite yet, the latest version of Google Play Services — version 8.1 — includes most of the Android Pay infrastructure baked in. You can launch a lot of the functionality, but as of this writing, setting up your credit cards is going to fail before you get a chance to use them…
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Speaking to Chinese media, He Gang, the head of Huawei’s mobile division, has said that the launch of the company’s first smartwatch, called Huawei Watch, has been delayed until at least September or October, pushing its launch to the latter half of the year. The Huawei Watch was unveiled back at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with the company having said at the time that they were planning for a launch sometime “around the middle of the year.”
The delay can largely be attributed to “incompatibility issues with Android Wear,” according to the reports. In other words, Google Play services being unavailable in China due to strains between the Mountain View company and the People’s Republic of China has meant that Huawei has to build its own smartwatch services to match those built and offered by Google.
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Google’s Update Wednesday routine is in full swing today with a variety of updates rolling out to the company’s apps. Earlier today, Chrome 42 for Android made its was to the Play Store. Now, several other Google apps have been updated. Google has pushed updates to its Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Google My Business apps. The company also today released Android for Work app to the Play Store.
Google has started rolling out an updated version of its Play Services package for Android devices. The update includes several new features for developers to take advantage of in their applications. The first of these is the new Places API, which provides access to point-of-interest information:
The latest version of Google Play Services for Android is now available to developers through Android SDK Manager. Google Play Services 6.5 features several new developer features for its Maps, Fit, and other APIs. Moreover, there is a new “lite mode” that allows developers to include a static map image in locations that would normally make it impractical or impossible to manipulate the map.
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Google has updated Play Services for Android with several new developer features for its Maps, Fit, and other APIs. Developers incorporating Google Maps into their apps will find a new toolbar available to users that allows them to instantly get directions or open a map in the Google Maps application from within a third-party app.
An additional “lite mode” has been added that allows developers to include a static map image in locations that would normally make it impractical or impossible to manipulate the map. These “lite mode” maps can be tapped to open in the Maps app.
Google is slowly updating its apps with Material Design guidelines ahead of the widespread release of Android Lollipop, with the official Android Wear companion app the latest set to receive a makeover. This morning, leaked screenshots surfaced of both the new Android Wear app alongside the latest version of Google Play Services.
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Google announced some new additions to Google Play services for developers today with the biggest being that the Appurify team, an app testing platform, is joining Google. That means that the freemium service will soon be available to developers through Google Play services. Google also announced some other new services for developers and users today including new features for gaming and direct carrier billing for more devices.
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At Google I/O today, Sundar Pichai specifically discussed security innovations happening on Android as it builds an open platform that innovates quickly. Pichai used this as an example to jab at Apple’s iOS 8 for only now introducing alternative keyboard and widgets as Android has had the features for years. Pichai said that “less than half a percent of users” ever experience any issue with malware on Android. He also noted that 93% of Android users are on the latest version of Google Play Services which updates every six weeks. Pichai also announced features coming to Android “L” including a kill switch and universal privacy controls.
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Google announced today that it has finished the rollout of its new AdMob to more than 200 countries and as a result the company will stop accepting apps into Google Play based on its old SDK on August 1st. Following this initiative, the search giant will sunset AdMob’s legacy platform on August 31st. After this, legacy ad units will stop working and the outdated AdMob UI will no longer be accessible.
