I spent several hours rummaging through the Google app for a recent opinion piece detailing its excellent Saved feature. However, I don’t use this app often, if ever. This got me thinking: why is the Google app still around, and why does Google insist on keeping it when a search widget from Chrome could essentially replace everything I use it for?
While I’m sure many users (including myself, initially) feel that it’s a vestigial piece of software from Android versions of old, it plays a far more critical role on your phone than its meek public-facing presence suggests. As infrequently as I — or you — actually tap that Google app icon, we all still use its hidden features many times a day.