(Update: Google has made a public response to this issue, which you can find in this post.)
While I covered some of the shortcomings of Google Now in its debut version for iOS a couple of days ago, it also seems to be suffering from a bug that affects its use of Location Services. According to this thread on the Google Product Forums, the launch version of the service has a problem that causes the GPS stay on, even after the app has been closed.
If you read the thread, there is a lot of back and forth about whether Google Search and Google Now actually uses the GPS, or just WiFi and Cellular data. It seems that there is some confusion, even with people at Google, as to whether it does or not. The gentleman helping in this support thread maintains that Google Now does not use GPS, as does the official product page for Google Search in the App Store. However, a Google Inside Search support page that the App Store page links to clearly states that the GPS chip is used.
Note: You may notice the Location Services icon
in your status bar after you start using Google Now. It appears because Google Search sometimes reports your location even when you’re not actively using the app. Google Now uses these reports to give you traffic alerts and other updates. Along with Location Services, Google Now uses Location Reporting to get precise location information. Since Location Reporting has been optimized to use GPS as infrequently as possible, there should be minimal impact on your battery life.
This is odd for a couple of reasons. First of all, the confusion and conflicting information coming from Google about this seems strange. This is a high-profile software release that has gotten a lot of coverage in the tech press. I just find it interesting that they don’t have their ducks all in a row. However, whatever the app is supposed to be using and when, it is clear from the reported battery drain problems that the Google Search app is activating the iPhone’s GPS chip. That function drains its battery faster than any other.
The second strange thing about Google Now’s Location Services issue has to do with implementation. If it is Google’s intent to use the iPhone GPS chip for position information (which I personally believe it should), there are far more efficient ways to do it. Apple made geofencing functionality available in iOS 5, and it has become a popular feature in several apps over the last two years. From location-based notifications in the stock Reminders app, to automatic refreshing of content in apps like Instapaper and iCatcher, geofencing is well known to iOS developers and users alike.
Whenever an app uses geofencing, the device has to keep the GPS engaged. However, Apple handles this request differently in iOS in an attempt to mitigate the impact of the feature on battery life. This presence of a current geofencing call is indicated by the outline of the familiar iOS Location Services arrow icon.
As you can see above, when Google now activates the GPS and leaves it running, the filled in version of the Location Services arrow appears, and remains on the screen even after the Google Search app is shut down.
This is odd behavior, because even an iOS turn-by-turn GPS app will release its call to Location Services and the GPS when it is shut down in the fast app switcher. As you can see in the last picture above, the call to Location Services remains, even after the app is closed.
And here you can see that the Location Services call disappears once Google Search’s toggle is flipped.
Unfortunately, once you do this, Google Now is completely disabled within the Google Search app. Turning this toggle off disables not only GPS, but also WiFi and Cellular position reporting.
Google’s current recommendation is to use the Location Reporting toggle switch, located in the Google Search app’s settings, under the Privacy section.
Using this setting allows you to leave iOS’ Location Services on for the app, which Google Now’s functionality depends on. Whether this toggle turns off the app’s use of GPS, or just disables its use when the app is in the background or turned off is unclear, so far. However, as you can see in the screenshot above, the Location Services icon does disappear after turning Location Reporting off, so this seems to be a temporary fix.
Whatever the story is behind this bug in Google Now, I’m sure the iOS team at Google is hard at work on a fix. They suffered through a lot of bad reviews and customer discontent with its early iOS software, such as its first version of Gmail. They have shaken that reputation off, for the most part, and I’m sure they have no desire to take a PR hit on such a high profile release. We’ll go hands on with the updated version of Google Search whenever a bug fix is released. I’m sure it won’t be too long.
Are you having issues with Google Now for iOS? Is it working fine for you? I would love to hear about it, either way. Feel free to let me know in the comments below, on Twitter @jhrogersii, or on Google+.
Continue reading:
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- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
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TAGS: Google, Google Now, Google Now bug, Google Now for iOS, Google Now Location Services bug
