Google Now could be getting voice notifications and third party app support

If you’re an Android users with a fondness for the built-in virtual assistant that is Google Now, you might want to pay attention. It looks like it might be getting voice notifications and the long-awaited support for third-party apps sometime in the near future.

Android Police has a breakdown of everything that’s been included in the latest version of Google Now, and it’s found a few interesting tidbits — primarily voice output and third party integration.

Voice output isn’t a new feature on Google Now, but voice notifications certainly are. There have been a number of third party Android apps that do things like read out text messages and emails, so it certainly makes sense that Google would want to implement that feature for itself.

Third party notifications is another feature that isn’t really shocking. The mention of a ‘3rd Party Welcome Screen’ implies that other apps will be integrated into Google Now’s feed, but whether this means Google Now functionality will come to 3rd party apps is unclear. A number of Windows Phone apps have already integrated themselves with Cortana, so allowing Android apps to do the same thing is a logical step forward.

There is still a good chance that these features may not jump out of the code and see the light of day, not until we get official confirmation from Google itself. Obviously, like any other tech, Google Now does need to evolve, and without the implementation of these new features it will just get left behind. Here’s hoping it has a bright future ahead.