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Google Now updated with movie showtime suggestions, emergency alerts, and more

Google Now updated with movie showtime suggestions, emergency alerts, and more

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An updated version of Google Now allows the app to automatically suggest movie showtimes to users, as well as provide public emergency alerts.

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Google Now movie and public alert cards
Google Now movie and public alert cards

One of the headline features of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is Google Now, the company's riff on the automated mobile assistant — and today Google has released an update that adds some new features to the mix. Bundled in a new version of the Google Search app itself, it adds two new pop-up cards to Google Now's arsenal: movie showtimes and public emergency alerts. Movie showtimes can be scheduled to appear whenever you're near a movie theatre, or even on the days of the week Google notices you search for movie showtimes most often. The emergency alerts will pop up whenever there's been a public warning about an earthquake, storm, or similar event.

The update also adds suport for Korea, and lets users fine-tune which sports teams Google Now will surface information on. In previous versions, Google would use your search history to determine if you wanted to receive information about the San Francisco 49ers, for example; with the update, users can add the teams they want to receive information on manually. The update only works on devices running Android 4.1 or higher, but if you're the owner of a Jelly Bean device, you can download the update from the Play Store now.

Thanks, Lawls!