Google Play Services Update Tweaks Maps, Drive, Fit Functionality

To help get their services to a wider audience, Google has issued a Play Services update today. The aim is, naturally, getting Google stuff in more places, and making it a better experience for the end-user. Moving forward, Developers will have the ability to better control the API library they need, and use only the API they want. That will keep apps lightweight, and easy to update/support. Developers will need it, too; there are a lot of cool new things they can build into their apps!

Google Maps has the coolest feature set, here, and allows for "a map toolbar to let users open Google Maps and immediately get directions and turn by turn navigation to the selected marker" (seen above).  A new "lite mode" will give small maps that aren't interactive (like thumbnails), but actionable via click.

Google Drive is also getting some attention, and will let Developers allow users to upload files by network type, and cancel pending uploads.

Wallet is seeing a "Donate with Google" button to compliment the "Buy with Google" button. The action is the same as the "Buy with Google" button, though.

Fit is starting to take shape, and Google has made it "easier for Developers to add activity segments (predefined time periods of running, walking, cycling, etc) when inserting sessions, making it easy to support pauses or multiple activity type workouts ."

The PlayServices update will roll out over "the next few days" to users, but look for the full effect to come in the next couple of months as Developers start to implement these tweaks.

Source: Google