People love Android for dozens of reasons. The wide range of functionality, the hundreds of thousands of apps, the versatility afforded by Google’s open source approach… these elements all combine to create a fantastic mobile experience. But if there’s one thing that is perhaps most impressive and most useful about Google’s mobile operating system, it’s arguably Google Now — and it just got a whole lot better.
Google announced on its Google+ page on Wednesday evening that it has enhanced the service with the addition of three new card types: news topics, website updates and what to watch.
“If you’re a fan of a particular blog, the Website update card can bring you things like the latest post so you’ll never miss a story, and the News topic card brings you fresh articles from the web on topics you care about,” Google’s Android team wrote. “The What to watch card gives you Movie and TV recommendations when you’re staying in.”
The post continued, “There are a few other great additions in Google Now with today’s update: you can see traffic incidents on your commute using real-time data from Waze, set repeat reminders, get real time scores for rugby teams, and also see when your packages are ready for in-store pickup.”
Google Now, for those unaware, is an intelligent personal assistant solution that provides users with information they need before they even think to ask for it. For instance, if there is a shipping confirmation in your Gmail account with a tracking number, Google Now will show you a card with delivery information. If there is an appointment in your calendar across town, Google Now will alert you when you need to leave, taking your route and traffic into account. If you have a flight coming up with details in an email in your inbox, Google Now will keep you updated on the status of the flight. And so on.
Google Now will be updated automatically on most compatible devices but it can also be installed manually by downloading the Google Search app in the Google Play store.
