7 of the best features you can find in Google Apps on iOS, but not on Android

After purchasing an iPad Air a few months ago, I was curious about the Google service experience on iOS. In previous years, I’m often heard about Google’s applications rolling out its competing platform before its own operating system, so I wanted to see if there was anything new being offered in the new Google applications and services. IOS we have never seen on Android. My inquiry gave several examples, seven of which were very significant and some less substantial.

Chrome Reading List

We heard about Chrome Read a feature like the upcoming post It’s been a year, but we still haven’t seen it come out to everyone. It’s now released on Chrome’s Canary release on Android, so it’s several weeks to reach the standard version. In the meantime, Google advises to use the page download function Change it.

However, the reading list is already live on iOS and has been around for months. Thanks to it, you can add any open page to your list or tap and grab any hyperlink of a site to save the linked page later.

The functionality is limited only by the option to indicate whether pages have been read or deleted from your list, but it is a simplified offline reading mode that makes it all worthwhile.

Once a page is saved, it can be accessed online and offline, and all redundancy is removed, leaving only the main content of the article with text and images. This is perfect for reading and enjoying some articles while you are away from the link.

Maps and search invisible gesture

Many Google apps on Android allow you to swipe your avatar image (top right) to switch between different logged in accounts. We really like the feature, which is available on iOS, however with an extra spray.

If you tap the avatar instead of swiping, you will switch to incognito mode, so you can use the app without any activity being monitored or associated with your account. It works on both the main Google app and Google Maps on iOS.

Gboard dot shortcuts

In general, Gboard is miles ahead of Android compared to iOS: it’s smooth, it delivers Simple Clipboard Manager And that Awesome emoji combo We love it so much in other extra things. But Gboard for iOS only has two unique features. The first is a way to quickly insert dot shortcuts, preset emojis, GIFs and stickers, by typing one dot (period) after another.

You can set as many keywords as you like, but they are limited to six characters long (which is why my popcorn keyword is ‘corn’), then search and select three suggestions that can be mixed and matched into emojis, stickers, and GIFs. Considering how awkward it is to plug these in on iOS, dot shortcuts are very welcome on the platform, but they are also very easy on Android.

Extensive Gboard Theming

The second Gboard feature you only see on iOS is the ability to customize any theme to your liking, down to the smallest detail. Tap the pen (edit) icon on the bottom right of any theme you choose, and you will be taken to a new page with all the settings you can imagine: background transparency, text and background colors Keys in regular and non-text, borders around each, pop-up text and Swipe background color and path color and length.

This allows you to customize the look of the keyboard to your liking, from the extra dark color suitable for night use (or vampires) to this blue, green, yellow and red retina-searing combination whatever the fun.

Google Drive privacy screen

What still bothers me is that Google does not allow you to set biometric lock for many of its key applications on Android. However, it does provide for drive on iOS. The feature is called Privacy screen Runs for 10 seconds, 1 minute or 10 minutes immediately after switching off the drive. Whenever you try to return to the drive after the preset time has elapsed, you must open it with Touch ID or your pin. This is a great security tool to keep anyone you don’t trust away from your important documents.

Google Apps Incognito Mode Privacy

Except for the driver, you can lock the Google app behind Touch ID, but only for incognito mode tabs after 15 minutes of inactivity. That makes a lot of sense. If you implicitly start a search, you do not want it being monitored by Google’s instructions or by people who have physical access to your device. 15 minutes after you switch, you’ll forget about it or be tracked laterally, so it’s easy to see it’s locked and requires your biometric authentication to display its contents.

If you open the app when there are people nearby, it may also save you from viewing some important content, and you may have been idle for a while and finally forgot what you did.

Google App Multiple Tabs

Every week, at least five or six times, I wish that the Google app on Android would allow me to do a new search without closing or violating an existing one. In iOS, the Google app has a tab converter button that allows you to do a new search or open another suggested article.

Switching between running searches and articles is as easy as selecting that thumbnail, and opening tabs will automatically close after a day, week or month.

Some more

Easy Chrome Multiple Widgets

Chrome for Android can open two side windows, but you must first open several windows and then tap any link on the current open page to open the second window. It’s very hidden and not very straightforward – I’m been digging into Chrome’s features for years and only learned about it a few weeks ago.

On iOS, the process is very straightforward. You can tap and hold any link to open it in a new window, or use iOS’s gestures, without first triggering multi-window mode. Easy PC.

Chrome Recent Tabs in Switzerland

Another small Chrome enhancement in iOS is the simple tab converter that lets you move between open tabs on your current device, but discuss the list of recently closed tabs and each tab you have open on other devices. All of these features are available on Android, but they are not as easily accessible with the tab switcher as they are on iOS.

Gmail sleep systems

On iOS, Gmail allows you to customize your sleep settings within the app, thus saving them without having to open a web interface to change them. Small, but why not add it to Android?

Hide charts in Google Calendar

I like beautiful examples of Google Calendar for events, but they do not suit everyone’s wishes. If you want to keep your calendar active and functional, you can disable month and event descriptions in the Calendar app on iOS with two transitions not found anywhere else on Android.

As it is, your calendar will only stop calendar colors again and become bland again.

Limit Google search results over time

Search tools have been added to the Google app on Android Last year Then mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again. They are available on iOS, however, allowing you to control your search results by date (any time, last hour, 24 hours, week, month or year). Finding these filters on the web (desktop and mobile) and in the iOS app is confusing, but Android is not one.

Widgets, type

Google offers today’s extensions (iOS 13 and earlier) that have been removed from iOS for some of its applications. Although these are not yet official “widgets”, they offer many functions that can be easily implemented as an Android widget. Unfortunately, none of these are available on our favorite platform.

Among the most interesting options are some quick actions for Chrome (including QR scanning), the recommended sites you visit frequently and the interesting map widgets ‘Smokeboard for local traffic, the nearest traffic departure, travel time to your home or work and recommended local guides’ activities. All of these are welcome on Android.

Many Google apps offer feature balance across Android and iOS, but some (like Chrome or Assistant) are more powerful on Android. However, it is interesting to note that in some cases the opposite is the case and that Google’s iOS teams are releasing certain features to Apple’s operating system before offering it on Android. Of course, none of these are important, but many are very nice and useful, and they are more than welcome additions to our mobile experience.