Google updates its iOS apps with support for Focus mode

With iOS 15 rolling out to Apple devices, apps are starting to get updates and support new features from the upgrade. That includes Google’s apps — the search giant detailed some of the changes heading to its software for iOS 15.

First up, Google updated its apps to work with the new ‘Focus mode’ in iOS 15. The company shared a few examples of how this works in practice. For one, Google Maps will still push through important notifications, such as navigation. Similarly, Google’s Home app will still send essential notifications, such as if someone’s at the door. Google Tasks will also ignore Focus mode for notifications tied to a specific time.

However, notifications that aren’t urgent will head to the iOS Notification Center when users are in Focus mode.

Another significant (and welcome) change is better Spotlight support for YouTube Music. Users can now search for songs or artists in Spotlight and jump straight into the YouTube Music app to listen to the music. Google says that Drive will also get better with Spotlight but didn’t detail any specific improvement.

And for iPadOS 15, Google confirmed that it’s bringing larger versions of its widgets for Apple tablets that should play nice on big screens.

That’s all Google outlined in its blog post. Overall, no massive changes, but definitely some welcome quality of life improvements for those who use the iPhone or iPad but rely on Google’s services.

Source: Google