INNOVATIONS CONTINUE
Google and Instagram are adding features that one can’t resist
Google’s Search app on iOS gets a Twitter-like feature
Google’s search app on iOS has now got a Twitter-like ‘trending searches’ feature that will show users searches that are trending when they tap into the box to start a search – as also provide answers to queries.
The App Store added the new feature, called ‘What’s New’, that also provides ‘instant answers’ as a user types his query – and even before he presses the search button.
When this feature was rolled out last year on android, people had complained that they found it annoying and distracting, especially as the content returned was not what they were personally interested in.
A few months later, Google updated and included an opt-out setting in the Google Search app. The same feature has also been included in iOS app version.
Instagram adds Stories feature to mobile web
Facebook-owned Instagram will now allow users to view its most popular feature ‘Stories,’ both on mobile web and desktop.
Instagram wrote in a blog post: “Stories has quickly become an important part of the Instagram experience – over 250 million people use it every day to see what their friends are doing in the moment.”
Hit by the growth of Instagram stories, photo-sharing platform Snapchat managed to add only seven million daily active users (DAUs) in the second quarter of 2017.
“We believe deeply in the long-term success of Snap,” CEO Evan Spiegel shared after the results, adding that “the company is making progress.”
The DAUs grew from 143 million in Q2 2016 to 173 million in Q2 2017 – an increase of 30.5 million or 21 per cent (year-over-year).
On the other hand, Instagram Stories has garnered over 250 million MAUs. The application currently has nearly 700 million users globally.