There’s all sorts of newness for Android fans this month. That includes the Nexus 9, Nexus 6, Nexus Player, Android 5.0 and now a new version of Google Play services.

Google Play services 6.5 includes new features for several of Google’s own Android apps as well as increased control over the APIs that an app requires, which will help slim down some apps. Here are the goodies that are packed inside this latest Google Play services update:

• Google Maps - Maps API includes a toolbar to let users open Google Maps and get directions to a selected marker. Additionally, a “lite mode” map is available for when you want a super small map, like for a thumbnail.
• Google Drive - Users can add public and app private custom file properties to Drive files for faster searches and allowing apps to save info that’ll persist across other apps. Syncing Drive files is also better on battery use thanks to ability to set when files are uploaded by network type and charging status.
• Google Wallet - Adds “Donate with Google” button to easily let users donate money in Wallet.
• Google Fit - Easier for developers to add activity segments like time periods of walking or running when creating a session, meaning that the app can now easily support pauses or workouts with multiple activities. 
• Granular Dependency Management - Developers can slim down their app size by relying on a common library and the exact APIs that an app needs rather than all of the available Google Play services APIs.

As with other Google Play services updates, this is mostly developer-focused stuff. We regular folks can still check the update out to get an idea of what we will start to see in future app updates, like better Maps integration, improved Google Fit tracking and perhaps some smaller app sizes.

Google Play services 6.5 will roll out over the coming days.

Via Android Developers Blog