Skip to main content

Google Places for iOS renamed as Google+ Local, now includes Zagat scores and voice search

Google Places for iOS renamed as Google+ Local, now includes Zagat scores and voice search

/

Google revamped its Google Places services back in May, adding data from its purchase of Zagat and renaming it Google+ Local. Now, the company has gone ahead and similarly revamped its iOS app.

Share this story

Google+ Local iOS app
Google+ Local iOS app

Google revamped its Google Places service back in May, adding data from its purchase of Zagat and renaming it Google+ Local. Now, the company has gone ahead and similarly revamped its iOS app (which is also now known as Google+ Local), and while it's largely the same as it was before, there's a few nice new features on board. Like many of Google's iOS apps, voice search is now included — it actually works quite fast and does a decent job of understanding your speech. It's not an "intelligent assistant" like Siri, but it does the job if you want to avoid typing. Of course, Zagat scores are now included alongside Google user reviews, and you can rate business and locations right in the app. While the app itself isn't radically different, we're not surprised to see Google rebranding it to bring it in line with the desktop offering; the free app is worth trying out if you're looking for a recommendation engine besides Yelp.