Google updates iOS app - includes 'Now' features

jclisenby

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How about that. Everyone wanted to say it would never happen and there was no app. Now, we have Google Now!


Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5
 

kch50428

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How about that. Everyone wanted to say it would never happen and there was no app. Now, we have Google Now!

I believe the point at the last time this came up was there was no app in existence for Apple to approve... now, there's an app... and it's approved. A giant "meh" as far as I'm concerned. :D
 

jclisenby

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I believe the point at the last time this came up was there was no app in existence for Apple to approve... now, there's an app... and it's approved. A giant "meh" as far as I'm concerned. :D

I'm just excited for another option. Google's Cloud Services on my iPhone make me very happy.


Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5
 

eb_therebel

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Has anyone used this yet? I'm using it and its cool and all, but it keeps my GPS active which is killing my battery. Once they fix that I think I'll actually use it more
 

mulasien

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Has anyone used this yet? I'm using it and its cool and all, but it keeps my GPS active which is killing my battery. Once they fix that I think I'll actually use it more

I'd like to hope that Google tested the update so that even though Location services are turned on, it's not killing the battery. I'll watch my phone for a couple days to see if there is an effect. Just because Location Services are on doesn't automatically result in massive battery drain.
 

Just_Me_D

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I doubt if I'll ever use it though. I've downloads the google search app in the past, but I usually just go to safari when I need to search for something.

Same here, Karen. I use Google via Safari for most things and Siri for others. However, I *may* try this version of Google Search for testing purposes.
 

kch50428

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It appears to me it turns on the device's GPS and continues to use it even when you close out of the app... I turned off location services for the Google App...
 

mulasien

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It appears to me it turns on the device's GPS and continues to use it even when you close out of the app... I turned off location services for the Google App...

It will be interesting to see if there's any significant battery drain present. I'd like to 'hope' that Google tested the functionality to not kill the iPhone's battery when running in the background.

Also keep in mind, the app's functionality and usefulness is going to be heavily nerfed without knowing where you are.
 

ernbrdn

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Don't be fooled by location services killing battery. It's not always the case, and geofencing is not the only low power state available. I believe most of the calls for drained battery are just a placebo effect, that arrow is on that must be the cause. You want to see an app that drains the battery? Do a notification search with c+pro that's a battery hog. Haha


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vwarp

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Nice to have the option, but as my other Google apps, this will be sent to a folder. I use iCloud email now, and all my other services are from Apple. But is a great option for those who also partake in the Google ecosystem.
 

tgp

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I used it a bit on my iPhone 5. My initial impression is that it's not that great on an iPhone. Google Now on an Android phone does way more than Siri on an iPhone, but Google Now on iOS is crippled.
 

mulasien

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I used it a bit on my iPhone 5. My initial impression is that it's not that great on an iPhone. Google Now on an Android phone does way more than Siri on an iPhone, but Google Now on iOS is crippled.

It does seem to be 'Google Now lite'. However, this should not be a surprise to us, knowing that it would not be able to get system level access to the phone functions.

That being said, I like having the 'lite' version of the cards over none at all. Siri handles system level functions of the phone just fine for me, so I use both in conjunction based on the immediate need. No complaints here.
 

tgp

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It does seem to be 'Google Now lite'. However, this should not be a surprise to us, knowing that it would not be able to get system level access to the phone functions.

That being said, I like having the 'lite' version of the cards over none at all. Siri handles system level functions of the phone just fine for me, so I use both in conjunction based on the immediate need. No complaints here.

'Google Now Lite' is a great description; I wish I'd have thought of it! ;) Yes without system level access Google Now will never be as good on iOS as Siri is.

The iPhone 5 is actually my 2nd phone; my daily driver is a Nexus 4. I use Google Now all the time. My favorite thing about it is the Google Now widget, which of course won't happen on iOS, at least not in the foreseeable future.
 

Rockdog97

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I installed it and it seems to me that the 'cards' are not always there.. also, the directions from say Work to Home only show one route, not the route that you are on.

The Calendar/Appointment card gets re-directed to the web-based version of Google Calendar, not the phone's Google Calendar app...

I really dont use the Google Search function of the app.

All in all, this app is a 3 out of 10 for me on usefulness...

if there was a way to keep the cards visible, that would help.
 

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