Dec 12th 2013, 14:49, by Sarah Perez
A minor, but interesting, update to the Google Maps iOS application out today introduces a little bit of Google Now-like functionality to the otherwise utilitarian Google Maps application. Users who choose to sign in will be able to see their flight, hotel and restaurant reservations in Maps, which appear following a user-initiated search.
After authenticating with Google (Gmail), you can search for your departing airport, hotel, or dining reservation to see your plans plotted on the map. The update had first arrived on the desktop this past October. Google has also offered these sort of “private” results within Google Searchpreviously, again for signed-in users. In the case of Google Search, users can also track packages, see Calendar appointments, google their own photos from Google Search, and query up information about the contacts they have saved on their Google Contacts lists.
The company has been slowly iterating on making Google’s apps feel less like standalone destinations, and more like tools that allow you to access the vast data that Google has about the world, and about you personally. It’s been blurring the lines between its services, as well as between what’s public and private.
The added functionality, like that arriving in Maps today on iOS, makes Google into a more personalized, smart assistant, even for those who don’t have an Android phone running Google Now.
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