Google and Apple Reveal New iOS Tricks

You can now easily move between apps with iOS.

Though there have been some problems between the two companies, Google’s iOS apps have always done a good job at interacting with the other apps on the iPhone. You can easily move back and forth to get things done – for example, you can tap something on a Google search in Safari and go right to your maps application. However, the company is expanding that functionality to the third-party apps on iOS well. As of today, Google can now index apps in its results and provide users with direct links into those apps. You’ll need to search using either the official Google app or the iOS version of Chrome, but your results will include links to relevant apps you /4/have installed — tapping that app link will bring you right into the app where you’d expect to be.

 The most obvious example that Google has been using to explain their new probably is OpenTable, you can tell Google that you need a reservation at a particular restaurant and then tap the OpenTable icon in the results, and go straight into the app and book your table. There’s even a “return to Google” bar at the top to take you back to your search results. 

This feature is one of the chief complaints among those who have switched from Android-based phones to iOS, and Apple has been making the moves to catch up. Google has always tried to keep their services equal, but Apple has caused problems. According to 9 to 5 Mac, Google says that iOS apps will begin showing up in search results “in the coming weeks,” provided that you’re signed into your Google account when performing the search. If you’re a developer and want to make sure your app shows up in Google search results, the company offers a few tips at the end of its blog post announcing the feature — and there’s also a session at Google later this week to help developers get their apps indexed by Google.