Google had introduced it’s intelligent Personal assistant Google Now back in 2012 as an aspect of its Google Search application, which allowed users to manage, search and organize information easily. Through Google Now cards, information relevant to the user such as upcoming events, nearby restaurants, popular news items etc. could be made available to the user, but till now all of it required an internet connection to work.
Now, along with a new Google Search update Google has been rolling out, Google Now has received offline support, allowing Google Now cards to function even without an active internet connection. The latest Now cards will be cached for offline viewing and even in the case of a loss in connectivity, the relevant information will be displayed to the user.
A note on the top of the cards will let the user know the amount of time that has passed since the cards were last updated. As soon as a new internet connection is found, the Now cards will be synced again. Users can download the latest version of Google Search from the Play Store.
This new update is bound to help those users who do not stay connected to the Internet 24/7 and those who have to experience connection issues during the course of the day, such as those who travel through underground transport systems. Its a far stretch but we would also like to see Google Now to accept voice commands like setting alarm and opening apps in offline mode as well in future.
Google has been updating Google Now on a regular basis in a bid to prove its virtual assistant’s superiority over other such apps such as Apple’s Siri and with the introduction of Windows Phone’s Cortana , the competition can only be expected to intensify.
