What Android applications build on.
WHAT PLAY SERVICES PROVIDES
Capabilities updated independently of the operating system.
WHY THAT MATTERS
New features reach older devices without a system update.
WHAT IT INCLUDES
Location services Maps Authentication and sign-in Payments Messaging Machine learning capabilities on device Safety and integrity checking
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Whether it is present.
WHY
Some devices and regions ship without it, and applications depending on it fail entirely.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT THAT
Check availability, and degrade where it is absent.
WHAT LOCATION SERVICES PROVIDE
A fused provider combining sensors, with lower battery consumption than raw hardware access.
WHAT TO REQUEST
The lowest accuracy that works.
WHY
High accuracy consumes substantially more battery.
WHAT INTEGRITY CHECKING PROVIDES
An assessment of whether the application and device appear genuine.
WHAT TO USE IT FOR
Raising the cost of abuse, verified server-side.
WHAT TO NEVER DO
Trust the result client-side.
