It's undeniable: Google is growing even further. After releasing the hotly awaited Marshmallow, revealing its ad-free music and video subscription service (which it calls YouTube Red) and unveiling its newest Nexus handsets (the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P), now a new version of Google Play Services is on its way, bringing with it a slew of cool goodies.
Google is looking to release Play Services v8.3, which incorporates a minor bug fix, after v8.2.98 as well as the .99 version started rolling out a few weeks ago.
While there is no blog post yet from Google, laying out the features or APIs, Android Police has provided a slew of interesting discoveries upon tearing down the version 8.3 of the Google Play Services APK.
Nearby And Smart Lock
Android Police unearthed a few modifications to Nearby as well as Smart Lock. It says in its post a handful of strings in the new APK bring together Google accounts, Nearby and Smart Lock features.
While there is no concrete clue as to what Google really plans to do, a report speculates a possibility exists that Smart Lock settings may be used to back up to the user's Google account.
Profile Merging
Deemed as another mystery feature, Profile Merging seems to be present in the newest version. A few strings on profile merging were spotted.
Based on the strings, it seems like users will already be given an option to merge separate profiles.
One use-case scenario where this feature will be specifically beneficial is when roommates share a tablet and one moves out. However, a few of the things in their profile must be kept for the other roommates to use. This is where this particular functionality steps in.
Feedback Screenshot Annotations
Another interesting feature that will certainly make things really convenient, particularly in sending feedback to developers for them to easily know what exactly users are talking about, is Feedback Screenshot Annotations. Screenshots alongside a feedback or comment will soon be enabled. On the part of the developer, this will surely add more context to the submitted screenshots. Other Google apps, including Play Music, likewise permit users to send feedback to the developers to make the apps even better.
Thankfully, an APK for Google Play Services 8.3.00 (2353383-248) is already obtainable via APKMirror for those who wish to sideload it.
