Google I/O was filled with a lot of announcements this year, but one of the announcements aimed solely at Android developers was the reveal of Google Play services. In a nutshell, Google Play services allows app developers to integrate other Google services, like Google Plus, into their apps. Today, Google rolled out version 1.0 of Google Play services, inviting developers to get to coding.
However, before you developers get too excited, you should know that the full roll out of Google Play services won’t be finished for another week. While the roll out happens, Google is obviously asking that developers don’t put any apps that use Google Play services up on the Store, for obvious reasons. After all, releasing an app that uses a service which hasn’t been fully released could cause some issues and it exactly a surprise that Google would like to avoid dealing with those.
Still, Google has released the client library a little bit ahead of the finished roll out so developers can get a head start. Google Play services version 1.0 features a handful of components, including OAuth 2.0 authentication, Google Plus sign-in, and the Google Plus +1 button. Google Play services 1.0 is compatible with all Android devices running Android 2.2 (Froyo) or later, and Google has released a getting started document to serve as a springboard for developers.
Google Play services is still a little light on features at this early stage, but we expect that all to change soon. Version 1.0 is just the beginning of things, and we’re thinking it won’t be long before Google has a new update primed and ready to go. Still, plenty of people are excited for the launch of 1.0, and eager developers can get the client library from the Android SDK now – just remember to hold off on launching those apps until Google says that the roll out has finished!
[via Google]
