Engadget posted a video of what appears to be a Google promo showing Google Now running in the Google Search App on iOS. The service would be accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen while signed in to the Search app. Google Now aims to give contextual information based on one's location and current activity, as well as providing sports and weather updates and other information. While Google Now lacks the personification of Apple's Siri, it fills much the same roll and appears to do so in a much more proactive way. Engadget also reports the video being pulled from You Tube (the video embedded in the Engadget post is hosted by Engadget).
Google has not been shy about submitting their apps to the Apple store. Many of their apps provide a just-as-good or better experience than the web versions including Gmail, Google+ and Google Search. Google Search updated with Google Now would provide a powerful and useful app and provide the added benefit of spurring Apple on to increasing the functionality of their own native apps.
It would be interesting to see Google port such a central part of the Android experience to iOS. Google Now is not just another web service like Gmail or Google+, it is a key point of differentiation between the two platforms. Of course, Google is like Amazon, they are not in the game to make money off of hardware, they make the hardware to make money on their content and services.
Baseless rumor and speculation: Pulling a video is more in character with a response to an accidental leak than for a gag post or faked video. If that were the case, one would expect a quick denial of an iOS port from Google. The fact that the promo video exists and was leaked may indicate a project that is near completion.
One final thought: imagine the utility of the Google Search app with Google Now if Apple were to open Siri's APIs. Oh well.
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