Google Play Services is a free piece of software available for Android which does the demanding task of keeping your installed applications up-to-date. This app makes your life easier when dealing with applications and other services of the Android operating system. Google Play Services contains individual Google services, and it runs as a background service on your smartphone/tablet. If your device doesn't have this essential package installed by default, you should download it and install it yourself.
Google apps won't work as intended without this package present there. This software provides the fundamentals for authentication, location services, access, synchronizing, and more. The user shouldn't consider this APK as a regular application because it's not. In simple terms, it contains a collection of APIs, short for Application Programming Interfaces, used by many other packages installed on the device.
It goes as far with its influence as working with your smartphone's operating system. This service provides authorization that gives the user access to each Google package. Apps like Gmail, Google Play Store, navigation solutions, games use the functions brought by this APK.
Do you remember all those Android games where people can compete in multiplayer matches, Leaderboards, and various Achievements? All these functionalities are possible because they use the APIs brought by Google Play Services. Without all these features, it would be challenging for developers to design and implement location services such as GPS navigation.
For example, the Geofencing API handles scheduling specific actions when a user moves from point A to B. The Fused Location Provider module gathers location data to identify and adapt to the user's current activity such as walking, running, cycling, etc. Something like this is essential for fitness and navigation applications.
Since we are talking about GPS apps, they wouldn't be that useful without the Google Maps Android API. It allows projects to implement features like Google Maps and Street View, with no requirements to open them in a separate package. Plus, it offers control over the camera because the developer might add custom markers and map overlays. Another essential application that takes advantage of Play Services is Google Drive. The Android API turns Drive into a solid foundation for synchronizing files, looking through documents, and more. Without it, it would be challenging to manipulate files.
Another critical module brought by this package is the Mobile Ads. This feature handles the task of integrating advertisements in various apps and games. The monetization happens through targetted ads with factors such as user location. Overall, it provides the means for all sorts of actions taken by other apps, including file search, access to Google Maps, system updates, synchronization, security, location, etc. This app is crucial for your Android OS and installed applications and services.