When Google first announced Google Now, lots of people called it a “Siri rival.” The two services do have some overlap, but Google Now is much more than a sassy personal assistant. Like Google itself, Now is all about using data to provide the answers you’re looking for – whether you’ve asked or not. Today iPhone users can finally get in on the Google Now fun.
That fun comes in an update to the Google Search app for iOS. Install the update, opt in, and get predictive Google Now cards based on the data Google collects.
[h=2]Limits[/h] There are some big limits in the iOS version. The Android version runs in the background, watching your location and the way you use Google services to make predictions. But the iOS version is sandboxed within the Google Search app (Apple's call, not Google's). No system level data or push notifications for you, Google.
Now for iOS has less information to draw from, and a delivery that's less elegant.
Apart from those obvious limits, though, this is the same Google Now that Android users have been enjoying since 4.1 Jelly Bean. There are predictive “cards” for things like weather, traffic, navigation, and sports scores. This one just relies more on the way you use Google services, and less (or, rather, not at all) on any other iPhone data.
Like Siri, Google Now for iOS also has voice recognition. It isn’t quite as focused on natural language as Siri is, but it delivers responses much quicker. In my time using Google Now on Android, it always provides the answer I’m looking for – either directly, or via lightning-fast web search.
[h=2]Availability[/h] The big update to Google Search brings Now to both iPhone and iPad (and the oft-forgotten iPod touch). You can hear Google's spiel in the video below, and check it out for yourself in the App Store.
Source: Google Mobile Blog
That fun comes in an update to the Google Search app for iOS. Install the update, opt in, and get predictive Google Now cards based on the data Google collects.
[h=2]Limits[/h] There are some big limits in the iOS version. The Android version runs in the background, watching your location and the way you use Google services to make predictions. But the iOS version is sandboxed within the Google Search app (Apple's call, not Google's). No system level data or push notifications for you, Google.
Now for iOS has less information to draw from, and a delivery that's less elegant.
Apart from those obvious limits, though, this is the same Google Now that Android users have been enjoying since 4.1 Jelly Bean. There are predictive “cards” for things like weather, traffic, navigation, and sports scores. This one just relies more on the way you use Google services, and less (or, rather, not at all) on any other iPhone data.
Like Siri, Google Now for iOS also has voice recognition. It isn’t quite as focused on natural language as Siri is, but it delivers responses much quicker. In my time using Google Now on Android, it always provides the answer I’m looking for – either directly, or via lightning-fast web search.
[h=2]Availability[/h] The big update to Google Search brings Now to both iPhone and iPad (and the oft-forgotten iPod touch). You can hear Google's spiel in the video below, and check it out for yourself in the App Store.
Source: Google Mobile Blog