Google Search App for iOS Gets Update

Google today introduced some new changes to its search app for iOS, including some speed adjustments and a new look and feel for search results. The app itself was launched back in March, aimed at presenting a faster search experience and making it easier to find apps.

With the new changes, Google says it has made the app more responsive and made search results easier to read.

“This version of Google Search app is up to 20% more responsive as you type search queries and interact with it,” says software engineer Nirav Savjani on Google’s mobile blog. “As part of the speed improvements, a feature called ‘Just Talk’ will now be off by default. Just Talk allowed you to search via voice just by bringing the phone to your ear and speaking rather than tapping the microphone icon. Turning off this feature may improve app performance, though you can easily re-enable it under the Settings > Voice Search menu.”

“When searching on a phone, the small screen sometimes makes it difficult to read small fonts or to tap precisely on a link,” adds Savjani. “To help you read and tap with ease, we’ve made the font of our search results bigger and the entire search result is now a tap target rather than just the link.”

When browsing search results with the app, users can swipe down to view the search bar or change their settings. The app as it was redesigned a couple months ago introduced a new toolbar that makes it easier for users to filter results. Users can access the tool bar by swiping left to right, before they search or from within the search results. There is an image only option users can access by taping “Images.”

This app is available for devices on iOS 3.0 and above, and can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store.