This is pretty interesting. An alleged promotional video showcasing a Google Now—Google’s impressive voice assistant that debuted in Android Jelly Bean last summer—for iOS app surfaced on YouTube this afternoon.
The big deal here is that while Google added some Now elements to its iOS Search app last fall, it kept location and contextual-based features exclusive to Android. But if the promo clip is real, that could be changing soon…
Engadget was tipped off to the [what would have to be] leaked video earlier today. And they were able to grab a copy of the clip before it was ‘mysteriously’ pulled. Sorry, it is a low-resolution video and it does require Flash.
The site notes that while it’s very possible that it’s an elaborate fake, it does seem to feature the same voice actress that did the original Google Now video. So that, and the fact that it was pulled earlier lend weight to its credibility.
Google has received much praise for its Now feature, which quickly repsonds to a range of informational and trivial questions, among other things. In fact, it’s a bit odd that it would want to port such a big part of Android to iOS.
But hey, we wouldn’t argue with them.