A few hours ago we reported that Google might finally add Google Now in the Chrome web browser on Windows and Chrome OS, but it now appears it is also planning a version for iOS. Engadget is reporting that it found a promotional video of Google Now on YouTube which now has been pulled.
Luckily, Engadget was prudent enough to capture a copy of the video which it has now embedded in its own player. By the looks of it, the promotional video looks quite real as the voice actress is the same as the one in the original Google Now video for Android.
For those who don’t know, Google Now is a service that ties all user data and collates and provides contextual updates to the user on the basis of his/her’s likes or dislikes, habits, location and schedules.
The video suggests that users will be able to launch Google Now from a simple swipe up from the bottom of the screen on iOS from within the ‘Search’ app. While the video actually does not show an iPhone or an iPad, so it is plausible that this could be a fake but other than that the signs are that Google might be cooking an Google Now app for iOS, considering the video was also swiftly pulled.
Google has always been a cross-platform company and has never really restricted any features to its platform Android. Last October, Google updated its ‘Search’ app with voice recognition that is now considered to be vastly superior to Apple’s Siri on the iPhone and the iPad. Then in December it launched its Google Maps app with turn-by-turn navigation which has turned out to be vastly popular.
Google has been waging a proxy war of sorts with Apple on iOS, by providing alternative solutions to core iOS features. The addition of Google Now to the platform could be another pawn in Google’s gambit.
Some of the apps Google offers on iOS include the Chrome web browser, Google Maps, Google Search, Gmail, YouTube and Google Drive amongst others.
No comments:
Post a Comment