Now that Google has released version 8.7 of the Google application, a new teardown has been conducted, hinting at a new Google Podcasts app, Actions suggestion U.I., World Cup 2018 features, and more. The principal change noted with the new app is, of course, the new Google Podcasts app. While there’s always a chance that Google won’t go through with finalizing such an app, the APK does include code which suggests it will. Namely, the code refers to a string that will ask the user whether or not they want to install the full Google Podcasts app from the Google Play Store. That will undoubtedly feature a U.I. similar to that of the podcast function already found in the Google app. A logo for that app has also been included in the APK, so there seems to be little chance that it won’t be released at some point in the future.
Moving beyond Google Podcasts, the search giant is also looking to make its Google Actions discovery process much less difficult for users. Rather than simply pulling Google Assistant’s Action suggestions based on past behavior or just at random, the company appears to be tying in Action suggestions to what a user is typing. That’s because, along with the new U.I., there is a string of code which informs the user that the Action being shown is associated with what they were putting into a Google search. Meanwhile, the U.I. is also getting a new floating window dedicated to the World Cup 2018. That will take the form of either a pill or a squarish card that floats on the home screen and tracks the current scores for the premier sports event. Alongside that change, the code points toward new notifications for reminders about matches and live scorekeeping.
Last but not least Google seems to be gearing up further for the new Google Assistant-enabled devices with displays. Those are set to start arriving in short order, starting with Lenovo’s Smart Display. The code indicates that there will be some new interface elements associated with “next up,” “now showing,” and mic muting events. There will also be imagery associated with Google Assistants knowledge-based responses to a user inquiry, indicated by a string which described as “quartz_knowledge_answer_list_image_content_description” – with “quartz” being the internal code name for display-enabled Assistant devices.
