Google has had a rather busy day so far with releasing new features and testing others before they’re ready for prime time, including updates to Google Calendar, the company’s Voice Search API, and the YouTube app.
With the addition of intelligent Goals last year, Google Calendar became more than just a regular scheduling and to-do app. Today, the iOS app is gaining Apple Health integration that will automatically mark as finished and adjust your fitness-related Goals.
I don’t classify myself as an Apple fanboy. I mostly prefer Apple products over competing ones, and I do find life is easier if I allow myself to be assimilated by a single ecosystem, but my opinion pieces are variously critical and supportive of Apple – and I’m certainly not blind to cool tech offered by Apple competitors.
I was particularly impressed by a feature Google released this morning: automatically and intelligently finding time in your calendar to work on your personal goals.
Most of us these days lead busy lives with packed schedules, and sometimes it can feel hard enough just keeping up with the essentials of work, family and those boring but essential chores – from clearing out the gutters to filing tax returns. When we do get some downtime, it’s all too easy to fill it with Facebook, Netflix and other time-snaffling activities.
This means those personal goals we optimistically come up with in the first enthusiastic days of welcoming in the new year – like writing a novel (gratuitous plug), learning a new language, running a marathon, or practicing a musical instrument – all too often get neglected …
On Wednesday, Google released their aptly named UI testing framework, EarlGrey. Having been using the framework in a few of their current iOS apps already for functional testing, it’s good to hear that the product has been validated before an initial public release.
Today Google Calendar for both Android and iOS gains a handy new Reminders feature that works alongside the app’s to-dos feature.
With the Reminders feature, users will be able to keep track of to-do lists across Google platforms including Inbox, Google Keep, Google Now, and Calendar.
Here’s how the new reminders work:
You might already create calendar entries to remind you to call the doctor or pick up groceries on the way home. But while those entries come and go, Reminders stick with you over time so you can track them until they are actually done. If a Reminder isn’t completed, it will appear at the top of your Calendar the next day. And the next. When you do finally call the doctor or pick up those necessities, just swipe the Reminder away … and you’re onto the next to-do.
And since the reminders work across Google apps, you can create them from Inbox, Google Keep, Calendar, and even using Google Now voice commands: “Ok Google, remind me to buy birthday candles.”
The new Reminders feature for Calendar on Android and iOS is rolling out this week. Google says it will come to the web apps in the near future. The updated Google Calendar app for iOS also adds 3D Touch to create events or reminders.
Google Calendar is out with an improved version for the iPhone today with version 1.1. The list of changes is short but the improvements should be welcome.
The update includes integration with Google Drive so users can connect files with events on your calendar. Interactive notifications now include the ability to open directions from alerts or respond to guests via email. Finally, users can now see week numbers next to the calendar and more entries using the week view.
Google Calendar for iPhone is available for free on the App Store. Version 1.1 follows the initial launch in mid-March. Full release notes below:
Expand
Expanding
Close
We recently showed you some of the possible innovative and or highly requested new features Apple could add in the next version of iOS. It’s unclear whether Jony Ive’s new software design responsibilities will lead to a radically new design for iOS 7, but many features of iOS are becoming more and more outdated with every slick new jailbreak tweak that gets released. One example is the lock screen—something that new jailbreak tweak Peekly aims to revamp.
Peekly brings weather, a selection of clocks, and a 3-month calendar in a two-page theme that reimagines the lock screen:
Peekly is a 2 page lockscreen theme for iOS. On the first page, you get the time and date. Currently you can choose between the default clock, a digital clock or no clock/date at all. More clocks coming soon! Dragging your lockscreen to the right will allow you to “Peek” at a 3 month calendar. This is the default peek. You can currently choose to put in a Twitter feed, yourGoogle Calendar events or an RSS feed. More options will be added soon. Swiping the lockscreen to the left will bring you to page 2, which has today’s weather. “Peeking” to the left on this page will show you a 4 day forecast.
Sunrise Calendar: Launched today by former Foursquare designers, the free Sunrise calendar app is getting a lot of attention for its simplistic approach to combining calendars, Facebook events and birthdays, and weather forecasts based on your current location. The app initially only supports Google Calendar, includes Timezone support (a feature missing from many popular calendar apps), and integration with LinkedIn to “see faces of people you are meeting.”
Features:
☆ 100% free calendar app with a gorgeous design.
☆ Compatible only with Google Calendar for now.
☆ A completely redesigned calendar experience for your iPhone.
☆ Synchronization that just works, in real-time.
☆ Quick Add Event just by typing “Lunch tomorrow at 9pm” (long-press on the +).
☆ Reminders.
☆ Timezone Support. No more headache when travelling!
☆ Facebook Events and Birthdays included.
☆ See faces of people you are meeting with using LinkedIn.
☆ Weather forecast based on your location.
☆ Smart icons.
☆ Tag location to events.
☆ Use Google Maps for Directions.
☆ Connect multiple Google Calendars.
IMDb version 3.1: IMDb announced a nice update to its IMDb Movies & TV iOS app that brings a number of new features including links to titles available on Amazon Prime for users that have the Amazon Instant Video app installed on their iPhone or iPad. The update also includes a Special Oscars section with a “list of nominees and photos from the red carpet and ceremony and live winners,” a new Recommendations feature, and a few improvements:
– Award information for celebrities and titles (iPad/iPhone)
– Titles available on Amazon Prime feature a link to watch if the Amazon Instant Video app is also installed (iPhone/iPad)
– Special Oscars® section: list of nominees and photos from the red carpet and ceremony and live winners on iPhone and iPad during the ceremony
– Recommendations: tap on the “i” in the corner of the poster to see why it’s recommended for you, rate the title if you’ve seen it, or indicate “not interested” (iPad)
– Improved accessibility for TV episode navigation (iPad)
– Updates to side navigation (iPad)
– Bug fixes include episode picker in VoiceOver (iPad)
Finish version 1.0.2: Improvements and new features for productivity app Finish:
1. There’s now an option in settings to start the week on Monday.
2. Smoother gestures!
3. Some small interface improvements
4. Good ol’ VARIOUS BUG FIXES!
iA Writer version 1.8: Popular text editor iOS app iA Writer gets a big update today that includes a new iCloud engine and UI, overall new look and feel for the entire app, and a ton of features and improvements:
Expand
Expanding
Close
TweetDeck version 2.0.0: Popular Mac App Store Twitter client TweetDeck gets a big update today that brings a revamped UI with “Improved clarity of columns and Tweets”, the ability to change font sizes, and redesigned profile panels with images. The updated app, which includes a toggle to switch between the classic dark and a new light view (pictured above), also now allows unfollow, block, and report spam actions to function for tweets in all columns. Features of new app are highlighted in a blog post on the TweetDeck blog, and the full release notes from iTunes are below:
• Redesigned UI
• Improved clarity of columns and Tweets
• New option to choose the app colour – dark or light
• Ability to change font size under Settings > General
• Redesigned & improved profile panel, including profile header images
• Unfollow, Block & Report spam actions now remove tweets from all columns
• Popup windows can now be repositioned using drag handle in top-left corner
• Repeated retweets are no longer displayed in Timeline columns
• Reduced the volume of the notification sound
• Tweet actions now available on Tweets in the Add Column menu
• $Tags are now linkified
• Fixed some display issues with Growl notifications
• Plus lots of other fixes and smaller updates
Calendars by Readdle: Readdle is re-launching its Calendars app that it calls the “most elegant and easy to use Google Calendar client available on the AppStore.” In other words, the app is now fully iPhone 5, and iOS 6 compatibility, fixing a crash some of the app’s 400k users had been experiencing.
-Snapseed now supports iOS 6 and the iPhone 5
-Flickr Support has been temporarily disabled due to a violation of the Apple App Store Guidelines. We are working with Flickr and Apple to find a solution to bring Flickr support back to Snapseed.
Recall: Launching today in the App Store, Recall is an interesting new app that allows you to store and get notifications for recommendations you have received for movies, music, apps, books etc. For example, you can search for and save movies to a “My Items” list, allowing you to receive notifications when a specific movie is released. The idea is to save items as people recommend them to you, so in the future the app will act as a quick way to recall those recommendations and get notified of availability. It will also allow you to share recommendations with other Recall users via email and social networks, as well as browse new releases and top charts. The app essentially works as a wish list for iTunes content and new movies with built-in reminders and sharing, features the App Store and iTunes on iOS are currently missing. A promo video for the app is below:
