Google Play Services 4.4 Update Brings Several Developer-Focused Changes

Google has begun rolling out its Google Play Services 4.4 to all Android devices worldwide. The update focused on developers has added a number of features that "can make [developers'] apps better than before," according to an official Google blog.

The release includes Street View imagery to Google Maps, and some new features in Location, Games Services, Mobile Ads, and Wallet API.

Google Play Services is used to update Google services and apps from Google Play. Things like access to all the latest user privacy settings, location-based services, Google services, and more, comes under this service.

The new API and features will be available to developers once the rollout is complete which Google expects that will 'take several days'. Later the company will release the updated Google Play Services SDK for developers to download it through the Android SDK manager, said Android Developers on its Google+ post.

With the new Google Maps Android API, developers would be able to use Street View imagery in third-party apps. This will enable users to explore panoramic 360-degree views of an activity. Developers can, "programmatically control the zoom and orientation (tilt and bearing) of the Street View camera, and animate the camera movements over a given duration," Google wrote on its Developers blog.

The Location API has added two new activity detectors - Running and Walking - which will give developers more option to create new apps. Earlier it had the ability to detect if the device is in a vehicle, on a bicycle, on foot, still, or tilting.

The Game Services update now extends request sending UI for game developers, allowing users to select multiple Game Gifts recipients. Also there are some additions in Mobile Ads APIs, which allow publishers to display in-app promotional ads, and control the targeting of ads. Changes to the Google Wallet API include an improved Instant Buy API to make it easier to embed the 'Buy with Google' button for developers.