Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Google’s iOS app revs up to high speeds, thanks to Accelerated Mobile Pages

By Kyle Wiggers Published May 31, 2016

Did you notice the Google app on your iPhone loading a bit faster than usual? It’s not the three cups of coffee you had this morning — Google is rolling out an update that significantly improves search and load times. And it comes packed with other goodies, too, including new Google Now cards and keyboard shortcuts for iOS users.

The iOS Google app’s speed improvements are thanks to a number of optimizations under the hood, Google said, and amount to measurable gains across the board. iPad users will see as much as a 10-percent speed improvement. Those enhancements alone will save users “a combined 6.5 million hours this year,” Google said, but the addition of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) support will make searches even quicker.

Recommended Videos

AMP is a Google-led effort to reduce webpage overhead with better code and faster servers, which means that webpages load much faster. On average, Google claims these pages load four times faster and use 10 times less data than equivalent non-AMP pages. The updated Google app on iOS will highlight AMP content with a rotating carousel within the Google News section, and denote AMP in search results with a lightning bolt icon next to links.

Beyond speedier searches and load times, the Google app is gaining new “card” skills. Starting today, sports video replays will begin appearing in Now, Google’s informational assistant. Need to get your Pittsburgh Penguins and Golden State Warriors fix? Highlights from top playoff games and major sporting events like the summer Olympics play right within the app.

The Google app is also gaining improved listings for local business and keyboard shortcuts for iPad. Search for a nearby restaurant or post office, for example, and Google will graph the business’s busiest hours, a feature that was previously somewhat hidden. And if you’ve got an iPad with an attached external keyboard, you can access a list of shortcuts by pressing and holding the “Command” key.

Ready to upgrade your search experience? Don’t fret — the upgraded Google app is already in the App Store.

Download for iOS

Former Staff Writer

Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…

Topics

Phones

Pixel 11’s seven-year spare-parts promise could be perfect to ride out RAMageddon

Pixel 11 continues Google’s seven-year spare-parts support as phone prices climb

Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone

The Pixel 11 series has plenty of new hardware and software features to talk about, but one detail that stood out to me has actually been around for a few generations.

Google is continuing its seven-year spare-parts commitment with the Pixel 11 series, a policy it first introduced with the Pixel 8 back in 2023. It means batteries, displays, and other replacement components should remain available long after the usual upgrade cycle has come and gone.

Phones

Google’s hyped-up RGB HiLight on the Pixel 11 Pro had me excited for nothing

Google’s cleverest new hardware might also be its biggest missed opportunity.

Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone

I have been following rumors about Google’s new HiLight feature long before the company even announced its name. A few weeks ago, reports spoke about the feature as Google’s AI interface, something that glows when users speak to Gemini.

Now that the company has wrapped the Pixel 11 launch event, everything’s out in the open, and one of the only two things it does is light up when you speak to Gemini. So, after all the speculations and build-up, Google’s big reveal is… basically the same thing we thought it was, and I have some strong thoughts about that.

Phones

Galaxy phones may finally get a basic privacy feature Samsung missed

One UI 9.5 could let you lock an app without jumping through hoops

Computer, Electronics, Tablet Computer

Samsung gives Galaxy owners an impressive amount of control over their phones. Features like Good Lock let users customize just about every aspect of their smartphones. But somehow, the company forgot to put a simple alaxy owners an almost ridiculous amount of control over their phones. Somehow, simply adding a fingerprint lock for apps.

With the One UI 9.5 update, this might finally change. Tipster Fahad Ali Javed has uncovered a native App Lock feature inside an unreleased One UI 9.5 build running on a Galaxy S26. So you would be able to secure individual apps directly from the app drawer without moving them somewhere else first. This could be one of One UI 9.5's simplest and most useful additions.