Google‘s recently unveiled Google Now, which was designed to answer all questions someone could possibly have about a subject. Are these new features useful enough, though, to kill apps? Some think so. Out of all of the tech trends coming up for the new year, a fundamental change to the way that mobile phones relate to software could be the most surprising.
“Apps can, and should, play along with the new service.”
This new wave of contextually sensitive information comes from Android M, currently only available to developers. However, the major consumer feature that has been showcased by Google at its I/O conference is Google Now’s context sensitive search features, which provide detailed information based on how the phone is being used. For example, if two people are talking about a local sports team, one of them could press the home button to call up information about that specific team and games, which could also make it easier for them to get tickets. The goal is, essentially, to reduce the time it takes for people to get answers to quick questions and figure out next steps, said Aparna Chennapragada, director of product management at Google, according to Ars Technica.
We’re getting more and more new ways to use our phones.
The end of apps or the beginning of strong networks?
One of the reasons that this is so interesting is that it signals a shift toward using just the phone’s built-in services to get things done. Google can scan any text within a phone that’s part of the natural software. In other words, this service makes it easier for Android phones to use anything supplied by Google for the phone, but it doesn’t extend to third-party apps like Spotify. There is more incentive now for users to only use the official software provided to them by Google, which means that it might be an effort by Google to reduce users’ reliance on apps, according to Wired. Apps can, and should, play along with the new service. One option they have to stay relevant is to send notifications for “cards,” which are little reminder notifications that can be sent through various apps in the Google Now service.
This new way of using apps within a mobile phone seems like the beginning of centralized process for apps to communicate, not necessarily the end of third-party applications.
