One area of focus that Google has been particularly working on for its apps and services has been better offline functionality. The latest feature of the Google app on Android queues searches made offline and automatically runs them when a connection is regained.
The Google app has been updated with a number of small features as of late, including Notifications for Doodles and the ability to take screenshots using Assistant. As part of the latest beta build, the Android app now allows users to manually set Search region.
While impressive in some areas, Google Assistant on the Pixel is lacking in others. Once present functionality like recognizing songs or verbal podcast controls have yet to make their way into Google’s new interface, but it now appears that screenshot functionality is making a return.
Google is currently rolling out an update to Google’s beta application which hints at several new features to come in the future. One of these is the ability to input text when talking directly to the Assistant on the Google Pixel. Other changes include further work to get Assistant working on Android Wear plus something new called “Search gestures”…
A server-side update rolling out to many users of the Google app today adds an interesting new Notifications page to settings. At the moment, the only option is to turn on notifications for Google’s homepage doodles, but nevertheless is quite notable for how high-level it is.
In light of Google Assistant, Google Now has undergone several changes in the past few months. The latest has been in testing since October, but is now officially rolling out. A new ‘Upcoming’ tab shows more personalized cards, while more general items will remain under ‘Feed.’
Back in August, Google Now was testing a Dashboard tab that showed cards and info from other services. As part of the latest beta version of the app, a new ‘Upcoming’ tab shows cards related to “what’s happening soon and nearby.”
With Google Now renamed to a more generic “feed” in recent updates, it appeared that Google wanted to avoid confusion with the upcoming Assistant. However, Now might not entirely be overshadowed as a new widget that shows notifications under the search bar is currently being A/B tested.
Introduced last month, Google’s “In Apps” mode allows you to quickly search installed apps. A dedicated shortcut — first available on the LG V20 — lets users directly jump into the mode from the homescreen. The latest Google app beta makes the shortcut available to all users and renames several major features, including Now on Tap.
Following improvements to Google Maps that surface interesting locales, Google Search is now showing restaurant reviews from top critics and what best-of lists (from various publishers on the web) a place has been mentioned in. In related updates, the latest Google app beta now shows weather and stock cards when triggering Now on Tap from the homescreen.
Update: In a blog post, Google details new features currently available in English and rolling out soon to other languages. Now on Tap now officially works in the camera app and for images. For instance, users can open the camera app and initiate Now on Tap to identify landmarks. It can also be used in apps like Pinterest to identify artwork.
Rolled out last night to all users, Now on Tap has a new interface and the ability to manually select text from anything in a screenshot to perform a search. Due to a number of factors, Now on Tap has yet to become a hit feature and today’s update is a meaningful change to the product.
Faster load and search times are the highlight feature of an update to the Google app on iOS. Like on the mobile web and Android, AMP articles will now show up in search results. Other improvements include sport video highlights on Now cards and more keyboard shortcuts for iPad users.
After its most recent update, the Google app now opens search results as Chrome Custom Tabs. This feature has been a long time coming, but it appears that pages suggested by Google Now still open up in the default browser.
Earlier this week, podcast listening, subscribing, and syncing features were finally added to Play Music. While that app update is still rolling out, the Google app for Android has just gained similar podcast listening features.
Google has created an offline speech recognition system that is faster and more accurate than a comparable system connected to the Internet. While research papers are usually very theoretical, this new system is already running and has been tested on a Nexus 5.
An updated version of the Google app rolling out this afternoon adds new animations to Now on Tap and a whimsical finger painting-like feature to make a custom colored Google logo.
Google is now further localizing the voice in their apps for Australian users. The new accent will sound more familiar to those down under and be better able to pronounce place names and understand local colloquialisms for tasks and actions.
When Google Now has a relevant piece of information to share, it sends users a notification. In the past, the notification icon that appeared in the top bar was specific to the type of info. A small update to the Google app today changes the icon to a more generic ‘G‘.
Google tests many new features within their apps that aim to streamline and simplify tasks for users. In a new feature, spotted by Android Police, users can install and download apps directly from a search results page.
Update 1/13: In another update (version 5.8.47.19), the normalized app icons were removed and are now back to their original size. The feature was likely just a bug. This update also fixes the gap between the favorites tray and onscreen buttons in landscape and the non-grayed out buttons when the launcher is opened.
The Google Now Launcher received quite a few updates in version 5.8.45.19 of the Google app. The launcher, which resides within the Google app, now has landscape orientation and normalizes the size of app icons.
Now on Tap has been criticized for its lack of usefulness since its launch in October. Today, it’s receiving its first major update that adds new languages and now recognizes more types of information. The screenshot feature previous seen in the beta channel is also now rolling out again.
The latest beta of the Google app adds a share icon to Now On Tap that doubles as a quick way to take and share screenshots of your current screen. While Now on Tap hasn’t been the most useful feature yet, most people will find this to be a very practical and nifty trick.
Earlier this year, a release of Google’s app for Android hinted at future ability to use voice search and commands without an internet connection. Offline voice commands could be used for a number of functions, and are now already be up and running for some Android users with the latest Google app installed…
