Google has rolled out an update to their Google+ app for iPhone. Google+ 2.0 gets a major overhaul for the user interface and a streamlined navigation experience. If you’ve used Google+ for iOS before, you know that the interface left quite a lot to be desired. It wasn’t really bad, per se, it was just… unimaginative. While it had a solid feature set for a social network app, the overall package wasn’t great. With that in mind, the overall package is what Google has updated.
The new Google+ app doesn’t actually deliver much at all in the way of new features. In terms of the feature set, everything is still pretty much the same. The only real changes are in the look and feel of the interface. The goal of the update, according to Google’s announcement, is to create an experience that’s “immersive.” In that regard, they have very much succeeded.
Items in your stream are now take up the entire screen. If you’re sharing a news story with an associated image, the image fills the entry, and the story’s headline is at the bottom of the screen:
Google+ 2.0 for iOS” />
They’ve also added a really interesting animation effect to the stream. As you scroll down from the top, stories appear to “drop” into your stream. It’s a really neat transitional effect apparently designed to make it easier to focus on a single post at a time.
Google+ 2.0 gives a what used to be a very ordinary (and a little bland) user interface a much-needed overhaul. Whether you’re a fan of Google+ or not, the app itself is pretty slick.
Google+ 2.0 is currently available in the iOS App Store for free. At present there is (still) not an iPad version of the app. Ironically, the iOS version of the app is getting the update first. According to Google’s announcement, the Android version won’t hit Google Play for “a few weeks,” though apparently when it does it will bring “a few extra surprises.”
What do you think of the new Google+ iPhone app? Check it out and let us know in the comments.