Google’s Android app just got a lot smarter.
Google Now will be updated with support for 40 third-party apps, the company revealed Friday.
Google Now, launched in 2012, provides personalized search results — in the form of “cards” — automatically based on a user’s previous actions.
For example, as you leave work the app may surface a Google Now card alerting you to an accident on your way home and provide an alternate route via Google Maps.
But these cards largely relied on Google’s own services: Maps, Calendar, Gmail, Search etc.
The latest update changes that with integration with a few dozen third-party apps, including Lyft, eBay, Ford, Pandora and others.
The notifications will only appear if a user has both the Google app and the relevant third-party app installed.
“In the morning, catch up on news of the day with cards from The Guardian,” the company explained in a blog post.
“On your commute, Pandora can give you recommendations for music to play, based on what you like, or you can be reminded to complete your daily French lesson on Duolingo.”
The update could have interesting implications for Android Wear, Google’s wearables platform that powers smartwatches like the Moto 360.
Google Now cards already appear on Android Wear devices but the addition of third-party apps — particularly those triggered by location — could make the feature even more powerful.
If you fly into a new city, for example, getting a Google Now card to call a Lyft right to your wrist would go a long way toward making the wearable platform more competitive.
Google Now will be updated to support the new apps “over the next few weeks” and the company says it will add more developers in the future. It’s not clear whether Google’s iOS appwill be updated with a similar feature.
Source: mashable.com