How Google Cloud Messaging handles Doze in Android 6.0 Marshmallow

How Google Cloud Messaging handles Doze in Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Doze Featured GCM Google Cloud Messaging

Posted by, Laurence Moroney, Developer Advocate

Android 6.0 Marshmallow introduces a new power saving feature called ‘Doze’. A device enters Doze when the user leaves it unplugged and stationary for a period of time and with the screen off. When this happens, the system defers application activity to save power. It will periodically and briefly resume normal operations, called an idle maintenance window, in order to perform app syncing and other pending operations.

If your app uses Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), you will need to take into account the following behaviors for users whose devices are in Doze.

GCM has two priority types for messages, called high priority and normal priority. When using high priority, GCM attempts to deliver messages immediately, waking a device in Doze, as needed. With Android Marshmallow, nothing changes here.

However, when using normal priority (the default priority), there are a number of different behaviors when the device is in Doze, including:

• The most important change is that messages will be batched for devices in Doze. When the device enters its idle maintenance window, the batch of messages will be received.


• We discard messages whose time_to_live expires while the device is in Doze (including TTL=0).

Despite this, it is recommended that, unless absolutely necessary, you keep your notifications as normal priority ones, as this will minimize battery impact. They will still sync during doze mode as described above, and of course once the device exits Doze.

High priority messages should only be used by applications that need to generate an immediate notification to the end user such as a chat app notification or an incoming phone call.

To learn more about Google Cloud Messaging message priorities, visit the Google Developers site.

Get the Do’s and Don’ts for Notifications from Game Developer Seriously

Get the Do’s and Don’ts for Notifications from Game Developer Seriously

Develop Featured Games Google Cloud Messaging Google Play notifications

Posted by Lily Sheringham, Developer Marketing at Google Play

Editor’s note: We’ve been talking to developers to find out how they’ve been achieving success on Google Play. We recently spoke to Reko Ukko at Finnish mobile game developer, Seriously, to find out how to successfully use Notifications.

Notifications on Android let you send timely, relevant, and actionable information to your users' devices. When used correctly, notifications can increase the value of your app or game and drive ongoing engagement.

Seriously is a Finnish mobile game developer focused on creating entertaining games with quality user experiences. They use push notifications to drive engagement with their players, such as helping players progress to the next level when they’ve left the app after getting stuck.

Reko Ukko, VP of Game Design at Seriously, shared his tips with us on how to use notifications to increase the value of your game and drive ongoing engagement.

Do’s and don’ts for successful game notifications

Do’s	Don’ts
Do let the user get familiar with your service and its benefits before asking for permission to send notifications.	Don’t treat your users as if they’re all the same - identify and group them so you can push notifications that are relevant to their actions within your app.
Do include actionable context. If it looks like a player is stuck on a level, send them a tip to encourage action.	Don’t spam push notifications or interrupt game play. Get an understanding of the right frequency for your audience to fit the game.
Do consider re-activation. If the player thoroughly completes a game loop and could be interested in playing again, think about using a notification. Look at timing this shortly after the player exits the game.	Don’t just target players at all hours of the day. Choose moments when players typically play games – early morning commutes, lunch breaks, the end of the work day, and in the evening before sleeping. Take time zones into account.
Do deep link from the notification to where the user expects to go to based on the message. For example. if the notification is about "do action X in the game now to win", link to where that action can take place.	Don’t forget to expire the notifications if they’re time-limited or associated with an event. You can also recycle the same notification ID to avoid stacking notifications for the user.
Do try to make an emotional connection with the player by reflecting the style, characters, and atmosphere of your game in the notification. If the player is emotionally connected to your game, they’ll appreciate your notifications and be more likely to engage.	Don’t leave notifications up to guess work. Experiment with A/B testing and iterate to compare how different notifications affect engagement and user behavior in your app. Go beyond measuring app opening metrics – identify and respond to user behavior.

Experiment with notifications yourself to understand what’s best for your players and your game. You can power your own notifications with Google Cloud Messaging, which is free, cross platform, reliable, and thoughtful about battery usage. Find out more about developing Notifications on Android.

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