Android users will no longer use Phone App searches on Google Maps
Android users cannot use the “Nearby Places” features in the Google Phone Dialer app. Google has now updated its search field in the dialer app from “Search contacts & places” to just “Search contacts”.
Google has that they have done this as only a few users were using this feature in the dialer app. They have noticed that many Android users have even not opened this feature for once. In February, Google announced, “We’ve found only a very small number of people use this feature, and the vast majority of users go to Google Search or Maps when seeking business-related phone numbers.” Now it’s really dead.
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What was Google’s “Nearby Places” Feature?
This feature allows the users to search for their nearby businesses. Suppose you want to look for a cafe near you, then you can use this feature to find the contacts of nearby cafes to you. The “Nearby places” feature was powered with Google Maps, it finds the data from there and then provides it to the users.
But in their announcement in February, the company said that when it comes to looking for any nearby places, people often prefer to use Google Maps or Google Search instead of the Google phone app. Many Android users even appreciated this feature, as it allows the users to look for local businesses. But as per the company claims they found a very low number of users to use this app.
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Google said that they are sunsetting this feature so that they can focus more on building high-quality work. Google said, “We’re sunsetting this feature so that our team can focus on building the highest quality, most reliable, and most innovative experiences in phone calling”. “For existing users of Nearby Places in the Phone by Google app, you can easily fulfill the same needs by typing a local business name into Google Search or Google Maps, which provides even more helpful information beyond phone numbers, such as address/directions, website info, and more.”-they added.
However, sources are saying that one of the reasons behind Google’s disinterest in this app is that it is diverting the traffic of Google Maps, which Google doesn’t want. Google Maps showed ads to the users whereas the dialer app did not.
