IFTTT integration on phones and Home is likely one of the biggest advantages of using Assistant over Google Now. The latest beta version of the Google app hints that the ability to make commands may soon be coming directly into Assistant. Other new features in 6.16 include payment authentication and a slightly updated visual search interface.
Over the past few months, the Google app on Android has been testing a ‘Recent’ section to provide a visual interface to browse through previous searches. This feature now appears to be live and widely rolling out to users.
The latest beta update of the Google app began rolling out last night, with only minor visible changes. However, underneath, it appears that Google is finally working on proper image search in version 6.14 and is adding other photo-related features.
The Google app’s on-device search functionality was upgraded last year to allow third-party apps to display content snippets right in results. Google Drive is the latest app to take advantage of this functionality with files now searchable from ‘In Apps.’
Earlier this evening, an alpha version of the Google app inadvertently rolled out. While quite unstable, some users who have sideloaded the app are reporting (via Android Police) that Google Assistant is now enabled on their non-Pixel device.
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‘.
