Set up Google Play services

AI-generated Key Takeaways

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• To develop apps using Google Play services APIs, set up your project with relevant SDKs from the Google maven repository and test on a compatible Android device or emulator.

• To use Google Play services APIs, you need to declare the required SDK dependencies in your app's module-level build.gradle file.

• You should check for the presence of Google Play services on a device using the isGooglePlayServicesAvailable() method before attempting to use Google APIs, as devices without the Google Play Store do not have it installed.

• New versions of Google Play services SDKs are released periodically with updates and bug fixes, and updating your dependencies allows you to benefit from these improvements.

• Google Play services also includes several Gradle plugins that can be included in your project for various use cases.

To develop an app using Google Play services APIs, follow the instructions on this page to set up your project with the relevant SDKs, which are available from the Google maven repository.

To test your app when using Google Play services, you must use one of the following:

• A compatible Android device that runs Android 6.0 (API level 23) or higher and has the Google Play Store app installed.
• The Android emulator with an AVD that runs the Google APIs platform based on Android 6.0 (API level 23) or higher.

Declare dependencies for Google Play services

To develop features that depend on the Google Play services APIs in your app, complete the following steps:

1. Open the build.gradle file inside your app's module directory.

2. For each SDK that your app requires, include the dependency for that SDK. This page includes a section that lists common Google Play services dependencies for Android apps. You might also want to add Firebase to your project.

3. Save the changes and sync your project.

The following snippet shows an example build.gradle file that uses the location library:

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

...

dependencies {
    implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:21.3.0'
}

New versions of the Google Play services SDKs with bug fixes and new features are periodically released. These updates are announced in the release notes. If your app uses a dependency that has been updated, change to the latest version in your app's dependencies to take advantage of these fixes.

Check whether Google Play services is installed

As described in the Overview of Google Play services , Google Play services is automatically updated on Android 6.0 (API level 23) and higher through the Google Play Store app. However, devices without the Google Play Store don't have Google Play services installed. If your app runs on devices without Google Play services, you should always check if Google Play services is installed before you attempt to use Google APIs or enable features that require it.

To check for the presence of Google Play services on the device, use the isGooglePlayServicesAvailable() method.

To then begin a connection to Google Play services, or learn how to detect whether the version of Google Play services installed supports a specific API, read the guide on Accessing Google APIs.

Google Play services dependencies

The following table lists the dependencies for Google Play services that you can include in your Android app. You can filter the list by device type by selecting one of the buttons, and you can search for a specific use case or dependency name by entering text into the box that appears after the buttons.

Phones and Tablets Android TV Auto Android Go ChromeOS Wear OS

Gradle plugins

Google Play services also includes several Gradle plugins, as shown in the following table. Note that the buttons that appear before the previous table don't change the information that appears in this table.