4:08 PM
Google Now shows cards from Spotify, Zipcar, Runkeeper and more
Helpful information and quick actions from your favorite Android apps will now show up in Google's personal assistant dashboard.
Editors' note, April 28, 2015: This post has been updated with details on new cards added to the Google app.
Your favorite Android apps have teamed up with Google Now. The Google-powered personal assistant, built into the Google app, now shows special cards from the apps installed on your phone. In a recent update, Google added support for 70 new app-based cards, bringing the total to 110.
The Google app not only lets you search the Web, it also serves as a dashboard where you can check sports scores, stock numbers, weather forecasts and more, each with their own card. Now it also serves up cards from popular apps you likely already have installed on your device. Those cards can show helpful information or give you quick actions that you'd normally have to open the app to do.
A particularly interesting card for US users is from retailer Walgreens, which displays your rewards card barcode. That's very similar to Passbook on iOS, where you can already keep store loyalty cards.For example, the new Zipcar card shows when your reservation ends and provides a map of the drop-off location. The Spotify card recommends playlists for you, based on your recent listening history. Another example is the Airbnb card, which shows suggested listings for upcoming trips, or reminds you to book a rental if you've searched listings for a specific date.
All in all, Google has teamed up with 110 apps to bring these special cards to the Google Now dashboard, including Runkeeper, OpenTable, ABC News, Feedly, Airbnb, Instacart, Lyft, Mint, Kayak, Ford and the newly relaunched Gett. Check out all of the integrated apps on Google's website.
If you have these apps installed on your Android phone or tablet, the cards will appear automatically when they're relevant. At any time, you can turn off cards from particular apps from the settings in the Google app. You can expect them to show up in the coming weeks.
While this is hardly a groundbreaking feature, it does help beef up the Google app, which is already quite helpful for getting directions, finding your parked car, checking calendar reminders, checking TV listings and, of course, searching the Web.
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