MAGNUS HYTTSEN: Do you want to build better apps?
In that case, you've come to the right place,
because we're now proud to release Google Play Services
7.0.
And that's exactly what Google Play Services
is all about-- enabling you to build better apps.
In this release, we've packed a number of new features,
and we also have a brand new API.
So join us, and let's check it out.
Let's start with location, location, and location.
I mean, what can be more basic than location
in a mobile environment?
GOOGLE NOW VOICE: Connectivity, perhaps.
MAGNUS HYTTSEN: All right, but you get the point.
Location is always important.
You want to know where your friends are,
what interesting stuff there is nearby,
or just to keep track of where you are.
That's where Fused Location Provider comes into play.
The Fused Location Provider can identify location,
combining information from a number of different sources,
such as the GPS, Wi-Fi network information, or the cell
network that you're connected to.
But how can your app detect and ensure
that location settings are enabled on the device,
and have them turned on if they're not?
Well up to now, this has not been straightforward.
But with this release it will be,
since you can now check if the necessary location
settings are enabled for a given location request to succeed.
And if there are possible improvements,
you can display a one touch control--
like the one you see here-- for the user
to change their settings without leaving your app.
So this is great news for your app, as well as your users.
For example, when Google Maps integrated the location
settings dialog, there was a dramatic increase
in the number of users who were in a good location state.
So this is important stuff.
And that brings us over to-- yeah, that's right,
we've got a new API.
Let's welcome the Places API with a round of applause.
[APPLAUSE]
The Places API uses Google databases
of places and business to identify the things that
exists at a location.
So for example, if this is my current longitude latitude
location, then the Places API could
identify that I am actually in Building 48 at Googleplex
where I am recording this video.
So how do you add this to your app?
Well, first of all, there is a built-in picker.
The user picks their current place,
and your app can get all the relevant information
about the place-- such as name, address, phone number, website,
and even more.
But that's not all.
You can also programmatically ask
the API for the user's current place
through the getCurrent Place method.
And it's also possible to report that the user is
at a particular place using the addPlace method.
So Places-- a great new API to use,
turning the world into real life objects.
And we've got a separate DevByte going
into more detail on this API, so be
sure to check the references at the end of this video.
Now turning to Google Fit.
In this release, we split the single fitness API constant
into six different API constants.
Why?
Because this significantly reduces the memory footprint
for Google Fit apps, in particular for apps
that are running in the background.
And there's just no limit to the types of fitness data
that you want to measure and record.
So therefore, we've added two more data types, namely-- body
fat and sleep.
What the heck?
Hey, no pranks!
New slide, new slide!
Whew.
[GROWL]
Those are the Google Fit enhancements in this release.
So go out there and create great fitness apps.
And wrapping it up with Play Game
Services, where we've added the Nearby Connections API.
If your app implements this, it allows Android devices
to connect to an Android TV and be used as a remote controller,
for example, when playing games.
And that's it for Release 7.0 of Google Play services.
And remember, when you use Google Play Services,
you build better apps.
And now it's your turn to go out there and create
those great apps!
And don't forget to tell us all about it.