New Client API Model in Google Play Services
Article Summary
Magnus Hyttsten from Google Developer Relations reveals a major shift in how Android developers connect to Google Play services. The old multi-client approach? Deprecated.
Google Play services 4.2 introduced a unified client API model that fundamentally changes how developers integrate multiple Google APIs. This post breaks down the new GoogleApiClient architecture that replaced the fragmented PlusClient, GamesClient approach.
Key Takeaways
- Single GoogleApiClient replaces separate client classes for each API
- One onConnected() callback handles all APIs, simplifying state management
- API calls can be enqueued before connection completes
- Developers choose async or sync execution with PendingResult
- Old client APIs deprecated, will be removed over time
Google unified its Play services connection model into a single client that handles multiple APIs with one callback, dramatically simplifying Android integration code.
About This Article
Developers had to manage separate callback methods for each API client like PlusClient and GamesClient. This split up state management and could interrupt sign-in mid-process, which hurt the user experience.
Magnus Hyttsten's team built the GoogleApiClient.Builder pattern with addApi() and addScope() methods. Developers could now declare all their API needs upfront, letting Google Play services handle user consent in one interaction instead of many.
The enqueuing feature lets API calls run in onStart and onResume lifecycle methods before the connection finishes. This removes the wait for separate callback methods and cuts down on boilerplate code.