It seems that Google wants to be generous and offer one of the company?s best software features to Apple. Even though until now Google Now has been an exclusive feature for Android users and came along with the Jelly Bean update, it will be available on iOS, too. Yesterday, Google announced that the Google Now search function will also be available on Apple?s products, namely iPhone and iPad.
Nevertheless, it will be a difference between the Android Google Now and the iOS version as the users of the iPad and iPhone will not get it as a standalone app. Instead, the feature will be included in the iOS Google Search app. In other words, the users will have to update the Google Search application in order for Google Now to work.
This is not such a big surprise because there have been various reports saying that Google Now was going to hit the App Store. Further, even Google?s Eric Schmidt confirmed the news last month, though kind of indirectly. He stated that it depends on Apple whether if will approve the application or not. When asked about the matter, the Apple officials denied that the Google Now application was in the approval process. If we think about it, none of them actually lied because Google Now is not part of the Google Search app, but it isn?t a standalone application.
Anyway, returning to the iOS version of Google Now, the owners of the Apple products should bear in mind that the first version of Google Now for iOS will not come with all the features included in the Android version, according to Engadget. It seems that even though the first iteration won?t include all the goodies, the functionality will be updated in the future.
Among the missing features we can name boarding passes, concerts, events, Fandango and Zillow. Also, the users of the iPhone and iPad will notice that notifications and alerts will be missing, as well. The good thing is that the iOS users will be able to perform voice searches on their devices.
Google Now is one of the main attractions of Android Jelly Bean, and may also be one of the reason why some customers would choose an Android based smartphone over a device that runs iOS. Nevertheless, keeping the app exclusive for Android would not be so profitable for Google as most of its revenues come from Search and ads. Considering that Google Now is mostly search feature, an advanced one but still a search feature, Google certainly plans to make it available for as many platforms as possible.
Other reports claim that the Google Now app will also be available for Chrome and Chrome OS, which is believable because the app just hit the App Store, after all. It would make a lot more sense if Google Now will be featured on the company?s on creations. As a matter of fact, we would not be surprised if Google Now will be heading to Chrome in the following months.
All in all, it seems that the YouTube video featuring Google Now for iOS that was allegedly posted by Google accidentally and then pulled was in fact the real deal because the internet giant just posted it again, this time officially. You can check it out below the article.
Now, let?s hear it from the Android users. Are you happy about the fact that Google Now will be available on iOS, or are you frustrated because the app won?t be an Android exclusive anymore?
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Androidgs/~3/dAOyeuIX96w/
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