Google Cloud Messaging now part of Google Play Services, new features added

Upstream messaging, sycnhronized notifications and persistent connections

Google's Hugo Barra has just taken the wraps off new features for Google Cloud Messaging, at the Google I/O keynote in San Francisco. In addition to rolling GCM into Google Play services, Barra unveiled three major new features for the push messaging service.

  • Persistent connections between developers' own servers and Google's, allowing a large number of messages to be sent out at once.
  • Upstream messaging, so devices can push messages back to GCM.
  • Synchronized notifications, so users can dismiss notifications on one device, and have them dismiss on all other devices.

The last two in particular were met with much applause from the assembled developers and press.

The new GCM features will be "rolling out progressively," Barra said. Keep watching our Google I/O liveblog for live coverage of the day's events.

Alex Dobie
Executive Editor

Alex was with Android Central for over a decade, producing written and video content for the site, and served as global Executive Editor from 2016 to 2022.