Advertising giant Google is aware of the fact that Microsoft's smart speech assistant application Cortana will be present on the Google Play Store as a standalone app. In order to prevent users from being influenced by the application, Google will be planning to improve the functionality of its Google Now application by allowing 'in app' search capabilities for a more thorough and flexible navigation experience.
According to 9to5 Google, Aparna Chennapragada, who is Google Now's product Management Director, discussed Google's intelligent data service and had revealed some details on the kind of changes that will be coming in the foreseeable future. Chennapragada revealed that the tech giant will soon be launching an open source API for Google Now that will allow third party app developers to take advantage of and integrate it in to the services that are featured in Android applications.
Chennapragada responded to a question regarding Google Now at SXSW, where the individual stated that Google Now will be able to track individual usage patterns, and in the process, will assist in displaying the kind of data that users are used to viewing. In order to bring this plan to fruition, Google Now's API is expected to be handed out to developers in order to execute voice communication with third party applications. If the rumors turn out to be true, then app developers will have more freedom in improving the overall app interface for users.
While the following has not been confirmed by Google, it is possible that the upcoming integration will only be compatible with the Lollipop 5.0 update, which if happens, will upset a lot of Android devices owners who are still using the obsolete versions of the mobile platform. Since Lollipop 5.0 offers more features compared to its predecessor updates, it will most likely provide users with far more flexibility. More information will be made available once Google gives out a statement.
