Google Play Update List | 2021 Android Developer Summit

Author/Google Play Product Supervisor Alex Musil

At this year’s Android Developer Summit , we shared some of the new features we’ve been building to help you develop on our platform, including improvements in trust and security, improving the quality of your apps, and improving profitability Tools, there are some updates for the game, and an exciting new application marketing certificate.

You can continue reading below, or learn about the main points of this update video

Meet the needs of developers with a better business model

We have released important changes to ensure that all types of businesses can be successful on Google Play. There are many projects that are designed to support our application ecosystem, 99% of developers apply to 15% service rates, or even lower.

We recently announced at that starting from January 1, 2022, the service fee for all subscription services on Google Play will be reduced from 30% to 15%. In addition, we are Play Media Experience plan , and now you can enjoy e-book and music streaming on-demand services with a service fee as low as 10%.

For more information on service rates, you can see our FAQ .

Trust and safety improvements

Earlier this year, we shared data security section in the Play Store, which allows users to understand what type of data your app collects and shares, and how to use this data. We provide you with a way to showcase your privacy and security policies, which not only builds trust, but also helps users make informed decisions when installing and using apps.

Starting in February 2022, users will be able to view the new data security section in the Play Store. Your application must complete this section before April 2022 and approved, but we encourage you to in Play center management data required to fill out the secure form . You can watch this video to learn more, including a guide to filling out the form.

We will update our policies regularly to make Google Play safer and more trustworthy. You can check our Policy Center or watch this video for the latest announcements.

Another way we protect you and users is to introduce new developer tools to help you protect applications and games from abuse and attacks, so as to ensure that users can get the experience you envision. The new Play Integrity API allows you to determine whether you are interacting with genuine application binaries, whether you are installing through Google Play, and running on genuine Android devices supported by Google Play services. If not, you can decide how to take appropriate measures to reduce the attack and reduce the risk of the application.

We will launch the Play Integrity API to all developers in the coming months. You can watch the video further details, or join the Program .

More ways to improve application quality

We have released several updates to help you improve the performance of your application.

First of all, we have Android Vitals to make it easier for you to receive reminders and fix new issues. Your recent data will be more obvious so that you can find problems in time. We also added trends, filters, and app version information to help you quickly identify the source of the problem.

We also recently launched a new tool Reach and devices in the Play Management Center to help you understand which features or updates can help you get the most users on Google Play. By understanding the distribution of users and issues, you can make more targeted decisions about what to build, publish, and test, so that the application can reach the largest range of users.

In addition, we are also optimizing the way users evaluate the quality of your app. One of the main ways users evaluate apps is to check ratings and comments . To this end, starting in November, mobile phone users can view the exclusive ratings of the country/region where they are registered. In early 2022, users will also be able to view exclusive ratings for the devices they use, including tablets, Chromebooks, and wearable devices. You can now preview ratings for specific locations and specific devices in the Play Console. We recommend that you review these ratings to improve the quality of your app as needed before the new ratings in the Play Store take effect.

helps you make better profit through applications

In order to help you better monetize through apps and games, we will continue to optimize the platform to keep up with the trend, including updating the Billing Library. Google Play Billing Library 3 announced in June 2020 includes new payment methods for users, allowing the use of promotional codes to redeem subscriptions, attribution of in-game purchases, and improvements to purchase reliability and security. I need to remind you that all updates of existing apps must use Billing Library 3 or higher. You can check the release note to learn more about the updates of Billing Library 3 and later (a small number of updates to your code are required).

We are also very excited to introduce a new feature of the Billing Library: In-App Messaging. At present, subscribers who fail to pay usually do not notice that their payment has failed, or can only successfully pay after experiencing many twists and turns. To this end, we have introduced a new API that can detect whether the user is in a payment failure state and immediately display a prompt message in the app, allowing the user to complete the payment immediately without leaving the app to go to the Play Store. Most importantly, this integration is very simple, requiring only one line of code. Our partners in the Early Access program generally stated that users who saw the news had their subscription renewed and spending increased by 99%. We will provide in-app messages in the next version of the Billing Library, so stay tuned for more information.

Silky gaming experience

You can now early to experience the updated API for Google Play Game Services (Google Play Game Services) that greatly simplifies login implementation. The new SDK can support single-line operation.

We have also simplified the users, , and merged the installation of Google Play Games and the creation of configuration files into one step. In this way, even if the user does not install Play Games, they can return to the game faster. We have also simplified the process of choosing automatic login to provide a smoother experience for returning users.

More than that, because the demand for installing the Google Play Games application has brought resistance to some users, starting from 2022, Google Play Game Services will no longer require this type of installation . After this change, 2 billion users will be able to log in to games supported by Google Play Game Services with a zero-threshold experience. More information will be released soon. You can also sign up on our developer website 161a4a4ad89a7e.

Industry-recognized application marketing certification

Another important point is that we released Google Play Product Listing Certification . This new project helps app marketers demonstrate their professionalism with best practices on Play product detail pages.

For obtain the certification , app marketers can participate in online training, which will help you better introduce apps or games on Google Play. You will learn key skills to help you drive your business through policy-compliant high-quality product listings. After the training is over, you can get a certificate recognized by the industry by taking and passing the exam.

We recommend that you take full advantage of these new features and items to grow your business on Google Play. Please continue to share your feedback with us so that we can build tools for your needs and provide impetus for your business development. Thank you for being a member of the Google Play community, and you are welcome to continue to follow us to learn more about the latest content.