Google announced earlier today, that its Google Play Services for developers will be getting a new update. The 8.4 version of the SDK for developers brings with it some much-needed perks.
With this version, developers will be able to know the kind of users who download their app, ways to improve the functionality and features and more importantly find ways to generate revenue.
Another major feature enrichment allows developers to customise email app invitations. In the earlier versions, developers had no choice but to adhere to user-defined content for email invitations. With 8.4, developers have been bestowed with the power to add content to the emails. This helps in keeping a check on the information available about the app.
Google has also tweaked the Player Stats API, which will majorly benefit game developers. Developers will now have a high degree of control on how the game progresses in its product lifecycle. Based on the preference of the users, developers will be able to tweak and improve the game like never before.
Google has introduced a new churn prediction tool that will help developers better understand their audience and predict the user activity. Developers can get a feed of this data and introduce new features in the game to entice the gamers. This feature also judges whether a user will prefer payment options for playing the game for more time.
The third feature of the update has got to do with location data. We all know when that when the location data is active it devours the battery furiously. In order to prevent this from taking place, Google has cleverly tweaked the Fused Location Provider (FLP) feature. With FLP the battery life is enhanced due to the fact that, FLP now prefers a Wi-Fi or a Cellular data connection instead of the GPS, which takes a toll on the battery. FLP can now determine the signal strength and network availability and choose signals from several network towers to give better network connectivity. It can also do the same thing with Wi-Fi networks and pick more than one connection for optimum connectivity.
Google has also made changes to Maps API. The company says,
We’ve added an onClickListner for polygons, so you can easily add transparent polygons and intercept screen taps directly.
The new update will considerably slack the amount of layers needed for Maps.
The other features for Google Play Services 8.4 include improvement on Vision API’s which now support Aztec bar codes. The Vision API will be able to detect the Aztec bar codes along with recognition of faces on barcodes.
The update was high on Google’s agenda since November this year, and has finally been released close to the end of this year.
