Android is the most popular mobile operating system and Google Play Services is at the heart of this OS. It is not an app and in fact, when you try to open it, nothing will happen. However, it is installed by default on all Android devices. It also sees regular updates that you might even never notice, and the number of permissions it requires is vast. Everything goes– access to and control over the location, SMS, access to sensitive log data, access to all the information from Google apps; to mention but a few.
In short, Google Play Services is an app that is very closely linked to the Android system itself. But there are Android phones that don’t come with it. Of late, Huawei is shipping its latest devices like the P40 series with Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) in favor of Google due to political issues.
Google Play Services is in essence a package of APIs (things that assist programmers and allow apps to easily communicate with other apps) that ensure fewer apps are dependent upon Android OS updates to run.
Importance of Google Play Services
Google Play Services represents a minor smartphone revolution. They help phones get updates of Google apps quicker without waiting for the release of a new version of Android OS. Take the example of Google Maps: before Google Play Services, this app was updated when the Android OS was updated. We all know how slow manufacturers can be when it comes to rolling out updates. Today, there’s no more waiting for updates to Google Maps: they are done automatically through Google Play Services.
Google Play Services will, therefore, allow your smartphone benefit from the latest versions of apps without upgrading to the latest version of Android. This does not include all apps, however; it’s mostly for Google’s in-house like Gmail, Google Play, etc. However, apps using Google’s services, of which there are many, may also be affected.
In essence, it means that any version of Android, from Android 2.2 up, can benefit from new apps and features, independent of updates to the OS. It’s essentially a way of fencing in fragmentation and ensuring that as many users as possible can continue to enjoy Android.
It is a change in the operating system that came with Android 4.3 but has continued to grow gradually with new Android updates, particularly with the arrival of Lollipop and Marshmallow. Nowadays, with Android 9.0 Pie widely available, Google Play services has become an absolutely essential part of the Android ecosystem.
Battery consumption
When it comes to battery consumption, Google Play Services generally consumes a low amount of battery, just a few percentage points. However, in other cases, users have seen Google drain up an inordinate amount of battery after an Android OS update. The most likely reason is an incompatibility issue between your Android version and that of Google Play Services.
The rectify the above, there are two simple solutions:
- Remove updates to the app (Settings > Applications > All > Google Play Services > three dots menu > Uninstall updates). You might need to head to Settings > Security > Device Administrators and disable Android Device Manager first.
- Disable the synchronization of Google data (Settings > Accounts. Here, press the menu button (three dots) and disable Auto-sync data).
