Google hosts its I/O conference annually, where it announces updates to the Google Billing Library. Since writing this article, a new Billing Library has been released — Google Play Billing Library 7. Make sure to check it out to stay up-to-date with the latest features. If you're interested in the updates from an earlier version, continue reading to learn about the enhancements in Google Play Billing Library 6.
In this article, we’ll make a brief overview of the updates on Google Play Billing Library 6.0, as starting on August 2, 2023, all new apps should utilize Billing Library 5.0 or a newer version, and all existing apps should migrate to Google Play Billing Library 5.0 or higher till the 1st of November, 2023.
Google Play Billing Library 6 expands upon the subscription functionalities introduced in version 5 and introduces additional enhancements.
Change a User’s Subscription Purchases
In Play Billing Library 5 and earlier, ProrationMode was used to apply changes to a user’s subscription purchases, such as upgrades or downgrades. This has been deprecated and replaced with ReplacementMode in version 6. The content itself remains unchanged, only the titles of possible dimensions have been changed.
Subscription Price Changes
The previously deprecated queryPurchases and launchPriceConfirmationFlow API have been removed in Play Billing Library 6.
Google Play Billing Library Errors
In Play Billing Library 6, a new NETWORK_ERROR code has been added to indicate problems with the network connection between the user’s device and the Google Play system. This code has replaced SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE, and SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE itself is a dimension that has taken the place of the deprecated SERVICE_TIMEOUT.
Pending Transactions
Starting with version 6.0.0, the Play Billing Library does not create an order ID for pending purchases. For these purchases, the order ID is populated after the purchase is moved to the PURCHASED state. Make sure that your integration only expects an order ID after a transaction is fully completed. You can still use the purchase token for your records. For more information about handling pending purchases, see the Play Billing Library integration guide and the purchase lifecycle management guide.
Additional Logging
The Play Billing Library 6 release includes additional logging, which provides insight into API usage (such as success and failure) and service connection issues. This information will be used to improve the performance of the Play Billing Library and provide better support for errors.
How to Migrate to Google Play Billing Library 7.0. and 6.0
To make your migration easy, here's a detailed guide to migrate to Google Billing Library 6. However, we suggest you check out the newer version. Learn how Qonversion supports Google Billing Library 7 and follow the steps in the migration guide to adhere to the newest standards set by Google. Here are the updates of older versions in case you're interested:
As always, get in touch in case of questions or hit us up in the hub in case of feature requests.
Kate
ex. Head of Marketing at Qonversion
Kate led marketing at Qonversion, building the brand and community around subscription app monetization.
