Google Play Services is one of the most important apps on any Android phone. It helps connect everything together, provides easy tools for app developers, and helps older Android phones get modern features without the need for Android OS updates.
Google Play is also quite elusive. It doesn’t advertise its existence on your phone. This can cause some problems when it comes to troubleshooting. Let’s take a look at what it is and how it works.
QUICK RESPONSE
Google Play Services is a software layer between the Android operating system and your apps (download games and apps clicking here). It can do a lot of things, update independently of Android, and help developers build better apps.
What is Google Play Services and what does it do?
Play Services is a software layer between the Android operating system and your apps. It serves as a bridge to help developers build better, more optimized, and battery-efficient apps without unnecessary work. Additionally, Play Services allows Google to add new features to Android without requiring Android OS updates.
Here's an example of how it works. An app developer has an app that needs to send a push notification. Play Services has two APIs for this function here . The developer uses these APIs in their app. From there, Play Services sends push notifications when the app requests them, without any additional work from the developer other than allowing game recharge.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of other APIs that help developers perform simple tasks in a seamless way. Navigation apps that request your location likely use Play Services to do so. Think of it as your phone’s manager, sending notifications, providing apps with your location, and running background processes to optimize battery efficiency.
The good thing about Play Services is that it allows Google to add new features to phones without requiring Android OS updates. All they have to do is add a new API to the Play Services library and update the app on your phone to support it. Many desirable features are rolled out to users this way every year. Of course, the downside is that it can be a real pain to fix when Play Services starts acting up.
How do I update Google Play Services?
It should update automatically in the background. It gets updates from the Google Play Store like any other app, so it should update when all other apps on Google Play are updated. However, if you want to check manually, here's how to do it.
The quick way
- While on the phone, tap this link . It should take you to the Play Services page in the Google Play Store.
- Tap the button To update , if necessary.
The official way
- Open the menu Your phone settings. Navigate to the section Applications , tap on All applications and scroll down until you find Google Play Services . Tap on it.
- Scroll down until you see the application details and tap on it.
- Your phone should open Play Services in the Google Play Store. If it needs an update, tap the To update . Google Play will update the app and that's it.
- If you don't find Play Services in the list, tap on the 3-dot menu button and choose the option Show system apps .
The above process may vary slightly between devices. For example, Samsung does not require you to click All applications before showing a full list of apps.
