Google Search update brings new UI, prematurely-posted features from last year

It's new! It's from Google!

Google Search is an integral part of Android smartphones. Indeed, it's Google's core product. For many devices, it's only a single dedicated button-press away. So it's a little odd that we've not seen a substantial update to so core an application for quite some time - until today, that is.

Our favourite search company have released a new version of its core app to market for Froyo (2.2.x) and above - Read their official report here, and download the app from the market here. Click on past the break for our report, and an interesting link back to August of last year..





First up, here's the changelog Google have posted for this update:

• Faster, smoother performance, with an updated and simplified user interface.
• Suggestions for your search grouped by type, with web suggestions at the top.
• Country-specific suggestions and search results for all countries with Google domains.
• Long press to remove history items.

No-one must know

Old search

 Now, I believe the country-specific domain suggestions were already integrated into Honeycomb's (3.x) search (The update is for Honeycomb, too, and largely brings those speed improvements), but the rest is certainly new - and very welcome. Snappier performance, better grouping of results, and a few other things too - if you have web search enabled (It is by default) hitting those new diagonal arrows next to previous searches or web suggestions pops the displayed text into the search box, and allows you to edit it before searching. I find this quite handy, as it saves time when refining terms for that elusive, obscure search result you just know is lurking behind the next page, or even more so if there's a search suggestion that isn't quite what you wanted.

This is gone

One other key feature is the distinction between web search and bookmarks, another element Honeycomb+ had already. Previously, you've needed to enable web search to allow access to the stock browser's bookmarks. I like to search for content on my phone rather than content on the web, and in this case I was prevented from doing so. Thankfully, this update allows you to select 'Google Search' and 'Bookmarks & Web History' separately, although the new layout pleases me enough that I'll probably leave Google Search enabled for the meantime. The quick switching between search options by tapping the Google icon is no longer present, as is the option to dedicate search widgets to specific things, like Contacts - some may miss these features, though I can't say I personally used either much.

Won't miss this style

Next up, the UI changes - goodbye Eclair-esque blue icon and orange text field, hello uniform off-white and almost Metro-esque icons. This brings the app's appearance in line with the revamped Google web apps, a nice step forward. Naturally, it retains the system UI elements in Honeycomb+, this refresh is more for the dated phone app. In the app drawer, Google Search has been rebranded as just 'Search', while the widget is square rather than rounded, and looks a little more uniform and minimalistic. I'll take a moment here to rant about the Google Search widget, because it annoys me.

I love wasting space!

Okay, so the Google Search widget is something we all know. 4x1, Voice Search icon at the right end, tap on it to bring up the search dialogue. Great. Except it's completely redundant. As mentioned, many Android devices have dedicated search buttons, and others such as the Galaxy S line can access search with long-press Menu. So there's no need to tap the widget at all, especially since long-pressing said Search button (Where relevant) usually brings up Voice Search (Which I never use).

Okay, I can understand the desire to have an on-screen reminder to search, and there's different ways to do different things, sure. But there is already an icon in the app drawer for the Google Search application, which can be added to the home screen as a shortcut, along with the Voice Search icon, and the two of them will only take up 2x1 home screen spaces. So the Google Search widget isn't just redundant, it's a waste of space. Ice Cream Sandwich and Honeycomb sort of get around this by tacking the search widget onto the top of the stock launcher regardless of which screen you're on, and - in the case of devices like the Galaxy Nexus which lack hard buttons - by functioning 'as' a search button. It still seems silly to me, but to each their own.

Whatever became of black search?

Finally, a little curiousity. Last year - August, in fact - Google posted an update to their Mobile blog about a revamped Google Search app that was set go live in the marketplace shortly thereafter. This never eventuated, and the post was removed. Thankfully, some sites such as Pocketnow reported on the post at the time, and archived the screenshots. Sure enough, those screenshots are the same thing in a darker, more Gingerbread-esque colour scheme.

Google loves hovercraft driving tips

 I personally prefer this darker style, not least to save power on AMOLED screens. Amusingly enough, Google's team chose to screenshot searches for 'Hover' in both this premature posting and the update that went live today. Why did that update never go live? Why did it take five months to make the UI white? We don't have the answers, but maybe someday the right question will be asked of the right Google engineer, and the sordid tale will be a mystery no more.



In the meantime, go update your Search app.