Google+ iPad App Gets Major Update

Google has given iOS some more love today, by updating its Google+ app to include better support for the iPad.

Version 3.0 of the universal application promises “full iPad support” as the search giant seeks to expand the user base of its social network, which was launched last year.

Google+ iPad = Joy?

“The Google+ iPad app was designed with the device in mind,” said Bradley Horowitz, vice president of product management at Google+. “Your stream styles content based on popularity, type and orientation. We’ve also added unique ways to interact with the app.”

Users of the Google+ iPad app can pinch and expand posts in their streams to add comments and use their fingers to drag a post from their stream and easily re-share it. Instant upload automatically uploads photos and videos to a private album, although this feature can be turned off.

Hangouts on the iPad can be streamed directly to a television using AirPlay, while both iPad and iPhone users can now initiate a Hangout with up to nine friends, with new ringing notifications alerting users.

The iPhone has also received some attention. Google recently launched ‘events’ on Google+ and these can now be managed on the Apple smartphone. Users can post comments, upload photos and check attendees, while past events and their associated posts and photos are retained.

Last month, Google released iOS apps for Google Chrome and Google Drive. It marked the first time that the web browser and cloud storage service had been brought to Apple’s mobile platform.

Google+ competes against rival social network Facebook and claims to have more than 170 million users. It revamped the service in April to feature customisable ribbons and feeds of popular content elsewhere on Google+, but critics have argued that the user figure is “inflated”.

They say that many users may have signed up for an account while registering for another Google service and had no intention of using it. They also point out that it still attracts far fewer users than Facebook, which has more than 850 million people on its network.

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