Google overhauls its Calendar app for Android 5.0 Lollipop
Google’s been hard at work overhauling all of its apps for Android 5.0 Lollipop, and we’ve already seen the fruits of its labor inside the latest versions of Gmail, Google+, and Google Play. The next big update will be for the search giant’s Calendar app, and it will deliver a gorgeous new look and awesome new features.
The new Calendar app is “designed to be a helpful assistant, so you can spend less time managing your day, and more time enjoying it,” Google says in a blog post. “It takes a lot of work to stay on top of your schedule, after all.”
There are a bunch of new features designed to make managing your days much easier. One of them is the ability to have the Calendar app work alongside Gmail to get events added to your schedule automatically. If you make a hotel reservation, book a flight, get an invite to a party, or receive emails about other events, they’ll automatically get added to your calendar.
What’s more, all of the events Gmail creates are updated in real-time, so if you’re flights delayed or cancelled, or you get another change via email, the calendar event will automatically reflect it — without any input from you.
When you do have to add events manually, you’ll find it even easier thanks to Assists, a feature that makes suggestions for titles, people, and places as you enter your event. It will even adapt to your habits over time. “For example, if you often go running with Peter in Central Park, Calendar can quickly suggest that entire event when you type ‘r-u-n’,” Google says.
Finally, the new Calendar app includes Scheduled view, which automatically provides photos and maps for the places you’re going, cityscapes of travel destinations, and “illustrations of everyday events like dinner, drinks and yoga.” Schedule view is designed to make it easier to see what’s going on during your days and weeks at a glance.
In addition to all of these features, you have a brand new design to look forward to. The new Calendar app will work on any device running Android 4.1 and up, and Google will be rolling it out via the Play Store in the coming weeks. Those already running Lollipop will see the release today.
And don’t feel too left out if you choose to use an iPhone rather than an Android; the new Gmail is on its way to the App Store, too.