Google Now has always been a nifty tool for important information and real-time updates, and it is set to become even smarter now. Google has revealed that its main Android app will soon be updated with support for 40 third-party apps, allowing it to pull information from other sources and provide better personalized search results — in the form of “cards” — automatically based on a user’s previous actions. The only caveat though is that the user has to have both the apps installed on his device for it to work.
The full list of apps is as follows: Airbnb, Instacart, Pandora, Shazam, Lyft, TripAdvisor, Kayak, eBay, Walgreens, Ford, Waze (although it’s technically owned by Google), Strava, Duolingo, Mint, The Economist, The Guardian, Belly, Coinbase, Redfin, Zillow, Life360, Hootsuite, Wattpad, Runtastic, Runtastic Me, Delivery Hero, Hailo, Mytaxi, Busuu, ESPNcricinfo, Housing, Meru Cabs, Shaadi, The Economic Times, Cookpad, SmartNews, Suumo, BookMyShow, and Lincoln.
Here’s what Google has to say about the update in an official blog post: “In the morning, catch up on news of the day with cards from The Guardian. 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.
During your downtime, you can take care of the groceries, with a card from Instacart reminding you to stock up on the things you often order. If you’re planning a trip and looked up places to stay on your Airbnb app but couldn’t make up your mind, you’ll see Now cards from Airbnb for the location and dates you’ve researched. And when you land at an airport, you’ll see a card to order a Lyft.”
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. Still no word on whether Google’s iOS app will be updated with a similar feature.
