Google+: a mobile app with sense and soul

Sharing is deeply sensory. From cooking a favorite meal to getting together with friends, it's the smells and the stories and the smiles that make human connections so essential. With Google+ we want to extend these moments online, so it�s only right to focus on the most personal of personal computers: your mobile phone.

To be clear, we�re not interested in a mobile or social experience that�s just smaller. We�re embracing the sensor-rich smartphone (with its touchable screen and high-density display), and transforming Google+ into something more intimate, and more expressive. Today�s new iPhone app is an important step in this direction�toward a simpler, more beautiful Google.



A feast for the eyes
Full-bleed photos and videos are cool. But you know what�s really cool? Content so immersive it remakes your mobile device into a rich carousel of beloved memories and breaking news. That�s the Google+ experience we aspire to, and today�s release helps us get closer:

• Whether you post photos or articles or text, we�re making �em look gooood
• We�re adding crisper fonts, larger profile pics and a friendlier homescreen
• We�re making the stream easier to scan, and easier on the eyes with overlays, gradients and other visual elements

A stream you can swim in
Looks alone aren't enough�you also need an app that's fast and fluid. Even a simple swipe gesture can inspire the same �wheeee!� as the bubble wands and ball pits we enjoy(ed) as kids. So today�s update pays special attention to fun and performance:

• Conversations fall into view as you move forward and backward in time
• Optical cues (like parallax) help the mind linger on individual posts
• Important actions like +1 now float atop the stream, making it easy to endorse all your favorites

The end result�we hope�is an app that brings you closer to the people you care about, and the stuff you�re into; an app with sense and soul. But please, give it a go and let us know what you think. The iPhone update is rolling out now to the App Store (version 2.0.0.5888), and the Android update is coming in a few weeks (with a few extra surprises).

Selected screenshots from today�s mobile update

Posted by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President