Google Now may be coming to iOS reveals 'leaked' video

Google has not been shying away from spreading some love around, especially to iOS, and an alleged video leak shows that the company’s pet project Google Now will be coming to iPhone and iPad sometime soon.

The video was discovered by Engadget on YouTube before it was promptly pulled off, but has found its way on other video hosting websites like Viddler. The low-resolution video that was leaked seems convincing enough as it sounds like it has been voiced by the same artist who has done Google Now videos in the past.

The clip explains Google Now as with no path-breaking new features except the fact that the service is coming to iOS devices soon. It shows that Google Now will be accessible from the Google Search application that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store.

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The service will bring the same features it offers in the Android version, which is a great move on Google’s part. We must remember though that this leak could simply be fake or could be a project that Google may have abandoned, but we do hope that Google Now will indeed make its way to iOS devices. The service could also pose as a tough competition for Apple’s resident expert Siri who responds when talked to. Google Now, on the other hand simply dishes out information as and when it feels you may need it.

Google updated its Now service for Android only last month making a much needed contextual widget live. The widget that works on your Jelly Bean powered Android’s home screen as well as locked screen will update relevant information just like the Google Now app. The widget shows you weather, directions you last asked of Google Maps and traffic expected.

Besides a whole new widget experience, Google added plenty of new features for users to enjoy with the update. The service integrated new partners like Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango and Zillow to help Google Now users do a lot more with the service than merely check weather and traffic on it.

Google is also trying hard in a hush-hush fashion to bring Google Now to desktop. Only yesterday a reference to support Google Now for Windows and Chrome OS was revealed through a code. Spotted in the Chromium release, the code specifically deals with toggling between enabling or disabling Google Now notification support. This comes only a month after it was noticed that Google’s open source web browser project Chromium had been updated with a new notification centre.

Coming Soon to iOS?

François Beaufort of Trapeze Media noticed that a new flag was added to the Chromium backend that allows users to enable the feature if they know the Google Now server. Sadly, Beaufort noted that since the Google Now server URL remains a secret, we still can’t play with it.

In February, Beaufort had noticed the new notification centre that seems to be “the perfect hub for Google Now cards.” Essentially a real-time search interface for Android users, Google Now has aimed to get users more relevant and real-time results since its launch at Google I/O in 2012.

Clearly, Google is in no hurry to launch Google Now for desktop. The company is making changes to Chromium at its own sweet pace before releasing the final version for Chrome.