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Developer(s) | Google LLC | ||||||
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Initial release | September 26, 2012 | ||||||
Stable release(s) [±] | |||||||
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Preview release(s) [±] | |||||||
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Operating system | Android | ||||||
License | Proprietary | ||||||
Website | developers |
Google Play Services is a proprietary software package produced by Google for installation on Android devices. It consists of background services and libraries for use by mobile apps running on the device. [7] When it was introduced in 2012,it provided access to the Google+ APIs and OAuth 2.0. It expanded to cover a variety of Google services,allowing applications to communicate with the services through common means. [8] [9]
The package's services include location tracking and geofencing,single sign-on account services,user health and fitness tracking,payment processing,integrated advertising,and security scanning. Many apps on Android devices depend on the use of Google Play Services,and the package requires the user to use a Google Account and agree to Google's terms of service. Distributing Google Play Services on an Android device requires a license from Google,which contractually prohibits device producers from producing Android devices that are incompatible with Google's Android specifications.
Google Play Game Services [10] can be used by application developers to allow a competitive and social experience through the use of leaderboards,achievements,and multiplayer sessions. [11] Saved Games API is available to sync game saves on Google's cloud infrastructure. [12] Location APIs provide specifications about the location technologies,providing geofencing APIs for scheduling specific actions when the user enters or leaves specific geographic boundaries,Fused Location Provider acquires location information such as reduced power usage and activity recognition for allowing applications to adapt to the current action of the user (e.g. cycling,walking,etc.). [10]
The Google Sign-in Android API provides single sign-on,authenticating the user inside applications using Google Account credentials. [13] The Google Maps Android API allows applications to include Google Maps or Street View without the need to open a separate application,allowing full control over the camera and providing a means of adding custom markers and map overlays. [14] The Google Drive Android API allows Google Drive to be used as a storage structure,providing lookup and syncing of documents along with other file manipulation tools. [15] The Google Cast Android API adds casting functionality to allow Android applications to display content on TVs using Google Cast,additionally providing various helpers for common audio,video,and image types. [16]
Google Mobile Ads integrates advertisements into applications,allowing monetization by targeting ads based on factors such as user location. [17] The Google Pay API allows purchases of services and goods via Google Pay. [18] Other APIs include the Google Fit API,account authentication methods,and Google Analytics. [8]
Google Play Services is used by almost all Google apps that have system-level powers. [19] All major Android services are controlled by Google Play Services,and many third-party apps also depend on it. Without this and its requirement to log in with a Google Account,apps may not work properly. [20] [ better source needed ]
Google Play Protect is a unification of Android security systems. [21] [22] [23] In 2019,the company announced that the software was scanning 50 million apps per day. [24] On November 6,2019,Google announced the App Defense Alliance. Partners can request Google Play Protect to analyze an app. Results are sent to the partner and Google Play Protect receives results from partners. As of November,2019,partners of the App Defense Alliance included ESET,Lookout and Zimperium. [25] [26] In October 2023,Google announced that Play Protect would scan sideloaded apps for malware at install time. [27]
Google Play Services is automatically updated through Google Play on devices with Android 6.0 or newer. [7] This means Google can deliver updates without manufacturers having to update the Android firmware,working around the fragmentation of the platform that has become infamous for Android products. [19] [28]
The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) was announced in 2007,and functioned as the baseline system for all OEMs and firmware modifications such as CyanogenMod and LineageOS. Various AOSP apps were transferred to Google Play with a closed-source model. Many apps (such as Lyft,Uber,and many of the Google apps like Gmail and YouTube) function only when the Google Play Services package is available and enabled. [19]
Distributing Google Play Services as a part of the Google apps package requires a license from Google,which contractually prohibits device producers from producing Android devices that are incompatible with Google's Android specifications. Others who are interested in modifying the Android system are required to either opt-out of Google Play Services or to obtain the Google apps package from either a device that has them pre-installed or an unofficial source. [19] [28]
Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software,designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android has historically been developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance,but its most widely used version is primarily developed by Google. It was unveiled in November 2007,with the first commercial Android device,the HTC Dream,being launched in September 2008.
The Android Debug Bridge is a programming tool used for the debugging of Android-based devices. The daemon on the Android device connects with the server on the host PC over USB or TCP,which connects to the client that is used by the end-user over TCP. Made available as open-source software under the Apache License by Google since 2007,its features include a shell and the possibility to make backups. The adb software is available for Windows,Linux and macOS. It has been misused by botnets and other malware,for which mitigations were developed such as RSA authentication and device whitelisting.
Google Play,also known as the Google Play Store or Play Storeand formerly known as Android Market,is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating system and its derivatives,as well as ChromeOS,allowing users to browse and download applications developed with the Android software development kit and published through Google. Google Play has also served as a digital media store,offering games,music,books,movies,and television programs. Content that has been purchased on Google Play Movies &TV and Google Play Books can be accessed on a web browser and through the Android and iOS apps.
Google Keep is a note-taking service included as part of the free,web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google. The service also includes:Google Docs,Google Sheets,Google Slides,Google Drawings,Google Forms and Google Sites. Google Keep is available as a web application as well as mobile app for Android and iOS. The app offers a variety of tools for taking notes,including texts,lists,images,and audio. Text from images can be extracted using optical character recognition and voice recordings can be transcribed. The interface allows for a single-column view or a multi-column view. Notes can be color-coded and labels can be applied to notes to categorize them. Later updates have added functionality to pin notes and to collaborate on notes with other Keep users in real-time.
Google Hangouts was a cross-platform instant messaging (IM) service developed by Google. It originally was a feature of Google+,becoming a standalone product in 2013,when Google also began integrating features from Google+ Messenger and Google Talk into Hangouts. Google then began integrating features of Google Voice,its Internet telephony product,into Hangouts,stating that Hangouts was designed to be "the future" of Voice.
Android KitKat is the codename for the eleventh Android mobile operating system,representing release version 4.4. Unveiled on September 3,2013,KitKat focused primarily on optimizing the operating system for improved performance on entry-level devices with limited resources.
Wear OS is a version of Google's Android operating system designed for smartwatches and other wearables. By pairing with mobile phones running Android version 6.0 "Marshmallow" or newer,or iOS version 10.0 or newer with limited support from Google's pairing application,Wear OS integrates Google Assistant technology and mobile notifications into a smartwatch form factor. Wear OS is closed-source,in contrast to the free and open-source Android.
Google Fit is a health-tracking platform developed by Google for the Android operating system,Wear OS,and iOS. It is a single set of APIs that blends data from multiple apps and devices. Google Fit uses sensors in a user's activity tracker or mobile device to record physical fitness activities,which are measured against the user's fitness goals to provide a comprehensive view of their fitness.
Android Marshmallow is the sixth major version of the Android operating system developed by Google,being the successor to Android Lollipop. It was announced at Google I/O on May 28,2015,and released the same day as a beta,before being officially released on September 29,2015. It was succeeded by Android Nougat on August 22,2016.
Android Nougat is the seventh major version and 14th original version of the Android operating system. First released as an alpha test version on March 9,2016,it was officially released on August 22,2016,with Nexus devices being the first to receive the update.
Android Oreo is the eighth major release and the 15th version of the Android mobile operating system.
Flutter is an open-source UI software development kit created by Google. It can be used to develop cross platform applications from a single codebase for the web,Fuchsia,Android,iOS,Linux,macOS,and Windows. First described in 2015,Flutter was released in May 2017. Flutter is used internally by Google in apps such as Google Pay and Google Earth as well as other software developers including ByteDance and Alibaba.
ARCore,also known as Google Play Services for AR,is a software development kit developed by Google that allows for augmented reality (AR) applications to be built. ARCore has been integrated into a multitude of devices.
Android Pie,also known as Android 9 is the ninth major release and the 16th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 7,2018,and was released publicly on August 6,2018.
Android 10 is the tenth major release and the 17th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 13,2019,and was released publicly on September 3,2019.
MicroG is a free and open-source implementation of proprietary Google libraries that serves as a replacement for Google Play Services on the Android operating system. It is maintained by German developer Marvin Wißfeld. In a presentation,Wißfeld described microG as "the framework to create a fully-compatible Android distribution without any proprietary Google components".
Google Messages is a text messaging software application developed by Google for its Android and Wear OS mobile operating systems,while it's also available via the Web.
Android 11 is the eleventh major release and 18th version of Android,the mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. It was released on September 8,2020. The first phone launched in Europe with Android 11 was the Vivo X51 5G and after its full stable release,the first phone in the world which came with Android 11 was Google Pixel 5.
Android App Bundle is the Android application publishing file format. The App Bundle must include the application's compiled code and resources,which allows for the signing and generation of APK files to be deferred to the app store,reducing the initial download size of the app. The file extension used for this format is ".aab".
Google Wallet is a digital wallet platform developed by Google. It is available for the Android,Wear OS,and Fitbit OS operating systems,and was announced on May 11,2022,at the 2022 Google I/O keynote. It began rolling out on Android smartphones on July 18,2022.