Updated Google Now for iPhone - goodbye Siri

Nowadays, no smartphone user can do without important and exciting applications. In particular, App Store Every day it pleases us with more and more new discoveries. Therefore, every iPhone owner probably knows about the existence of the “Find My iPhone” service.” From now on Android users will be able to appreciate the beauty of such an application.

According to user Alf44 on the forum, Google company announced that it will launch this month new service « Android Device Manager", which can remotely block and also find a missing smartphone. Users will have access to the same features they are familiar with and have successfully used iPhone owners, however, their list will also be replenished with new ones:

Alarm – in case you forgot where you left your phone, you can force an alarm signal from your smartphone via the Internet.
Location on the map - if the sound itself does not provide any help, i.e. You can't hear your phone, you can find it on the map.
Remote data deletion - if you know for sure that your phone has been stolen, you have the opportunity to delete all data from it. First of all, this is necessary to ensure that thieves do not use your messages, contacts and other data for their own purposes. And besides, you are unlikely to want anyone to look at your personal correspondence and files.

Where can I purchase the Find My iPhone app?

Any user can download the Find My iPhone application from Google Play. Android Device Manager will be able to work on all devices that support GPS and operating system which are Android 2.2 and higher. However, a certain nuance should be mentioned.

Experience with iOS shows that this undoubtedly valuable application can only help you in some way for a short time after losing your phone. If the phone turns off because the battery is low or the new owner of the device deliberately rushes to turn it off, it will be much more difficult to find it.

Google is everywhere, and their strategy is correct - to make services so that all users are happy and very quickly run to the newly released application. Whether it's office software, or mail client. Everyone immediately looks and wants to try the application from Google. It’s not a fact, of course, that everyone actually uses it afterwards, but they definitely try...

At the end of last year, I came to the realization that 70 percent of the time I use Google services in my smartphone and laptop. famous manufacturer Apple. Isn't there too much information?

Before this I used a variety of Android and Windows Phone devices, and tasted everything. You’ll say that you’ve gotten used to it and now I can’t use other applications. But this is not so - while conducting another “terrible experiment” on myself, I switched completely to Windows and a smartphone from Nokia (lumia 925, for those interested) - that lasted me for a week or two... A little later, when I got an iPhone and with time Macbook, I decided to completely switch to all Cupertino services. This idea lasted, of course, longer than with Windows, but not too long. I still went back to Google apps... and why is this happening? Why is Google stronger? convenient? more attractive? ..you just want to use their software?

The fact is that competitors’ applications and services are more catching up with the developments from the corporation (let’s exclude, perhaps, the office from Redmond); and yes, it doesn’t say here that “Good Corporation” is first everywhere. You can remember how quickly Dropbox blossomed and how long it took Google to catch up, but how did they do it? They not only caught up, but complemented and made everything better and cheaper.

I resort to completely all Google services on my iPhone:

Google search – it’s probably not worth explaining why, the best search;
Chrome – the same situation: choose among browsers? For what? If there is a clear leader;
Maps are the best for street navigation on trips “to somewhere far away.” There may be some shortcomings around the city, but I don’t drive around the city using maps, since I already know the city..;
Gmail is the best among all email services... the zero inbox technology did not force the same Googlers to switch to inbox, but this is also a matter of taste;
Drive cloud for ($1.99/month) - profitable and high-quality, including the entire package (Docs, Sheets, Slides - the office package is not the best, of course, but enough for me);
Calendar – I won’t say that there are any advantages;
Translate – honestly? I rarely use it;
Youtube - replaced the TV, adding Chromecast to it = idyll;
Google+ is an active “Google Pluser” =) Here, of course, it’s very imho. There are different opinions about this social network;
Hangouts - with those who only communicate on Android. I also call abroad when needed very, very much favorable rates, leaving your operator without bread;
Google Music is the best - convenient, cheap, has everything you need, also allows you to upload your own, I completely forgot about iTunes...
Play News - came into my life instantly, beautifully and conveniently;
Snapseed – I use it very, very actively and wish for updates for this software and integration with google+ photo =) – they are such dreams!

All the applications that Google releases for iOS are very high quality, sometimes they are even better than their “relatives” for Android - this is IMHO. But the thoughtfulness of iOS makes itself felt. It makes no sense to limit software from Google, since analogues very rarely provide similar functionality. For example, I’m really looking forward to Keep from Google for iOS. One thing I don’t really like is now Google started cut your “ Material Design” in full new software.. as for me, this doesn’t look very relevant on iOS, but it’s a matter of taste...

Even avid Apple fans have already come to terms with the fact that Apple is in no hurry to release Siri in Russian. It is worth saying that it is already late. Google's updated assistant can do much more than Siri, and Russian is like a native language for it.

For those who don't know what it is Google Now, - This personal assistant, which answers questions and commands and provides personalized information based on your interests.

For example, if you live in Moscow, then every morning you will have a weather forecast for the day. But as soon as you go on vacation to another country, Google will immediately understand this and change the forecast. Dozens of such examples can be given. WITH full list commands for Google Now can be found.

Google Now will also be very useful for those who use Google services on permanent basis. And this is not only Gmail and search, but also YouTube, Google+ and Google Maps. By analyzing all your actions in these services, Google gives really cool tips. Here, for example, is one of them.

Noticing that I was listening to the new single of The Black Keys on YouTube, Google reminded me that their album was already out and it would be nice to buy it instead of listening to the same song over and over again.

Google Now can also be used as a reminder. The only downside is that no matter how much I shouted into the microphone “Remind me to buy a case,” Google only gave search query according to this phrase. Although it should automatically set a reminder.

In any case, it will probably be fixed soon, and you can go to reminders without voice command. They are available in the bottom panel.

What else can Google Now do? From the standard:

remind about birthdays
show traffic jams on frequently used routes
your stock quotes
weather in the current region
parse plane tickets in your Gmail and remind you to leave for the airport, taking into account congestion and other data
same with reservations on booking.com or AirBNB

This has all been around for quite some time and is known to many. Let's take a closer look at the more interesting features:

parcel tracking - if a notification with a tracking number arrives in the mail, then Google Now can track the parcel and notify you when it arrives at its destination
show your flight status
remind you about the matches of your favorite team
remind you about the release of episodes of your favorite TV series and releases of musical groups
show updates to your favorite sites

Can Google Now replace Siri? Of course it can! During all this time using iPhone(over a year), I've only used Siri a few times. The first time with trembling hands, anticipating something incredible, and the other times, just trying to give her another chance.

No matter how sad it may sound, Siri in our region is an absolutely useless thing. The same cannot be said about Google Now. In addition to the presence of the Russian language, it really shows useful information and at the right time.

And now about the cons. For full-fledged work Google Now requires location services to be enabled. Google swears that this has virtually no impact on device battery life. But I have different information. Per day using Google Now eats up about 10 extra percent of the charge.

This is where the cons come to an end and only positive impressions remain. Google Now is a really cool service, and the number of situations in which it can be useful is off the charts. Therefore, if you are not afraid of spending an extra 10% of charge, feel free to install this magical application on your iPhone!