Newsletter - February 2021

Android / Google Play

• Get free resources for educators to teach Android app development using Kotlin in classrooms and local community groups.
• Stay up-to-date on how to improve apps in the new App Quality section on the Android developer website.
• Join the Play Asset Delivery virtual Q&A starting March 15 and submit your questions on Twitter with the hashtag #PlayAssetDelivery. 
• Take this five minute survey to share your feedback on how to improve our tools and services for game developers. 

Angular

• Try recently released Angular v11.2's debugging guides and learn how to troubleshoot common error messages.
• Opt in to the Ivy Language Service experimental release for better inline type checking and autocompletion support.
• Watch how to use critical CSS inlining and font inlining for faster rendering in your Angular apps.
• Subscribe and learn about the latest features on the Angular YouTube channel.

Firebase / Google Cloud

• Join on March 11 to learn what’s new with containers and Kubernetes at Google Cloud. Access technical demos, hybrid and multi-cloud solutions, developer tools, and serverless technologies.
  
• Now in beta: Cloud Firestore for games is available for C++ and Unity developers. 
• Register to watch a demo of the recent release of API Management platform Apigee X to see improved integrations with Google Cloud AI, security, and networking tools.
• Read how Cloud Spanner’s new introspection feature, lock statistics, helps devs troubleshoot performance issues by identifying sources of transaction lock conflicts in a database.

Google Maps Platform

• Protect your Google Maps Platform API key by hiding it from version control using the open source Secrets Gradle Plugin on GitHub.
• Learn how to improve Place Autocomplete input fields quality with new videos and code samples that teach performance and cost optimization best practices.
• Introducing the Google Maps Platform developer page, a one-stop resource for developer news, tutorials, docs, videos, support, community, and more.
• Customize quickly with industry-specific map styles that are optimized to help your users focus on the most relevant labels and features. Choose a style in Cloud Console.

Web

• Get key updates and progress on the Privacy Sandbox to build a more private web.
• Check out the newest Chrome beta release for Android, ChromeOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows for advanced hardware interactions, web sharing on desktop, and more.
• Try the new aspect ratio CSS property to maintain spacing in responsive layouts, launching in Chromium 88, Firefox 87, and Safari Technology Preview 118.
• Now a W3C standard: WebRTC. This platform has been critical during the pandemic, giving the web real-time communication capabilities that support video calling.

Developer Community / BIPOC Partner Highlights

• Watch the Accelerator Alumni Spotlight on demand to hear CEO SaLisa Berrien share thoughts on sustainability, funding, and using AI and ML to grow COI Energy.
• Announcing the 12 startups chosen to join the inaugural Google for Startups Accelerator: Voice AI class.
• Get to know Matej Krcek, a Google Developer Group Czech Republic member, who worked with the Google Workspace team to localize its tools and helped Czech schools transition online.
• See Google Developer Student Club students build apps with Kotlin and Android Studio by collaborating online through Android Study Jams.

Open Source and Misc

• Join Bazel day on March 4, and check back for topics each month from Google Open Source Live. Each event includes multiple sessions, a live Q&A, and more. 
• Now accepting applications for the 2021 Season of Docs - apply by March 26. 
• @GooglePayDevs is now on Twitter. Connect, share, and stay updated on all things related to digital payments. 
• Read the latest updates from Data Privacy Day and how Google is helping developers with differential privacy.