Google Play Services 4.1

Google Play services version 4.1 was recently released.  The versions is available to Android devices featuring a Turn Based Multiplayer support for games and preliminary API for integrating Google Drive. The latest update also includes improved battery life features with Google Location Reporting. With a billion dollar valuation, Google Play revenue saw an increase of 67% in 2013. Apple’s store only increased by 15%.

According to Inside Mobile Apps, Google Play claimed 25 percent of the combined revenue, but now accounts for 33 percent of the combined revenue across both platforms. Google Play’s gain was due mostly to large growth in Japan and South Korea. For instance, while the US spent the most money on apps across both platforms in July 2013, Android revenue was largest in those two areas.

Inside Mobile Apps / Google

Android Developers Google Play Services 4.1 Features:

Turn Based Multiplayer

Play Games now supports turn-based multiplayer! Developers can build asynchronous games to play with friends and auto-matched players, supporting 2-8 players per game. When players take turns, their turn data is uploaded to Play Services and shared with other players automatically.

We are also providing an optional new “Connecting to Play Games” transition animation during sign-in, before the permission dialog appears. This helps contextualize the permission dialog, especially in games that ask for sign in on game start.

Google Drive

This version of Google Play Services includes a developer preview of the new Google Drive API for Android. You can use it to easily read and write files in Google Drive so they're available across devices and on the web. Users can work with files offline too — changes are synced with Google Drive automatically when they reconnect.

The API also includes common UI components including a file picker and save dialog.

Google Mobile Ads

With Google Play services 4.1, the Google Mobile Ads SDK now fully supports DoubleClick for Publishers, DoubleClick Ad Exchange, and Search Ads for Mobile Apps. You can also use a new publisher-provided location API to provide Google with the location when requesting ads. Location-based ads can improve your app monetization.

Google+

An improved Google+ sharing experience makes it even easier for users to share with the right people from your app. It includes better auto-complete and suggested recipients from Gmail contacts, device contacts and people on Google+.

More About Google Play Services

To learn more about Google Play services and the APIs available to you through it, visit the Google Services area of the Android Developers site. Details on the APIs are available in the API reference.

Developers can update today by downloading the Google Play services SDK from the SDK Manager.