Apple Proactive to Tackle Google Now in iOS 9

New report says Apple is working on a Google Now competitor coming in iOS 9.

Under the codename Proactive Apple is reportedly developing a Google Now competitor. Proactive is supposed to be in the works since several years and combines Siri, Contacts, Calendar, Passbook, and third-party apps to make up a solution like Google Now.

Proactive automatically provide information based on the user’s data and device usage patterns. It will be a major upgrade to the current Spotlight search or what users can do with Siri today. 

Proactive, if it will be called that, will be available on the left side of the iOS home screen and not where spotlight is today. There will be still a search bar like in Spotlight, but in addition there will be information automatically pulled from all corners of the users iPhone.

9to5Mac describes the experience: “For example, if a user has a flight listed in her Calendar application and a boarding pass stored in Passbook, a bubble within the new Proactive screen will appear around flight time to provide quick access to the boarding pass. If a user has a calendar appointment coming up, a map view could appear with an estimated arrival time, directions, and a time to leave indicator based on traffic. Proactive will also be able to trigger push notifications to help the user avoid missing calendar events.”

Proactive is also supposed to do things like featuring app icons based on frequent usage at certain times. So for instance if a user checks Facebook every morning, Facebook will be displayed in the morning. 

There also is supposed to be a big improvement in maps coming with Augmented Reality Maps. There is a whole new Point of Interest system part of Proactive. The new POI system supports an augmented reality view for local listings, as well as a feature dubbed “Browse Around Me.”

Apple is expected to unveil the new powerful digital assistant functionality at the WWDC 2015 on June 8.