Google+

CNET Editors' review

by: Jaymar Cabebe on July 10, 2012

Google+ for iOS is a clean and intuitive mobile app that has all of the powers of its desktop counterpart, save for the games and a few other minor features. The latest version brings Events and Hangouts to the iPhone, while the iPad gets Hangouts as well as a stunning, tiled Home screen that's optimized for the larger screen.

Home
What used to be called Stream is now simply your Google+ Home screen. This is the lifeblood of Google+. With the little drop-down at the top, you can choose to show feeds from All Circles, Nearby, What's Hot (trending posts), or any of your individual circles. As of yet, though, you can't create a custom feed with more than one circle (Family & Friends, for instance).

From your Home screen, you can do almost everything you can in the full desktop version of Google+. You can easily comment on, share, and +1 items, and, of course, you can create and edit your own posts with pictures, videos, and location tags. As for looks, this screen shows a huge improvement over previous versions. It is now a lot cleaner, with wide images that look extra-stunning when in high-res.

Profile
Here, you can see your Google+ public profile page, all of your posts, and all of your photos. Unfortunately, you can't edit any of your profile information (except for your photo) from the Google+ app, which is a minor letdown.

Photos
As expected, this is the hub for all of your photos and videos. It provides a simple interface for viewing and commenting on items from your circles, items you're tagged in, and, of course, all of your own album items. You can also share, add tags to, or download photos.

One thing I love about the Google+ app is that it includes an Instant Upload feature, which automatically backs up pictures and videos taken on your mobile device. By default, these items go into the private "From your phone" album, where you can easily access and share them at your convenience. Of course, you can disable Instant Upload if you're worried about battery drain, but I think it's a superconvenient feature that should be taken advantage of.

Events
Here, you can manage your own events as well as those to which you have been invited. With a single tap, you can start setting up a new event, complete with date, time, invitees from your circles, and even a location tag. Unfortunately, for now, the Events manager is only available on the iPhone. However, we're confident it will be making its way onto the iPad version soon.

Hangouts
With the Google+ app, you can easily create a new Hangout (video call) while on the go. And with a couple of taps, you can enable or disable audio or video, or switch cameras. Also, it's just as easy to join a Hangout in progress, if you come across one in your stream. If someone invites you to a Hangout, your phone will notify you, much like it would for a typical voice call, and upon answering, you can decide to enable or disable video. If a lot of your friends are on Google+, then this feature is going to be a much simpler option than, say, Skype.

Messenger
The Messenger feature lets you chat with one or more of your Google+ connections from a single panel. You can add photos to your conversation, either from your album or directly from your device's camera. The feature is easy to use and has tons of potential when it comes to coordinating with friends. It can actually be a lot more convenient and powerful than mass texting, if most of your friends are on Google+, that is.

Circles
In this section of the app you can view and manage all of your Google+ Circles. You can easily view posts and photos from individual Circles, create new Circles, and move people between Circles. The experience here is very much the same as it is on the desktop.

The Google+ tiled interface is optimized for the larger screen real estate of the iPad.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Overall, the Google+ app provides an excellent way to interface with Google's social space while on the go. The interface has been cleaned up significantly, and all the functions are tucked neatly into the drop-down menu. Plus, the app now takes advantage of the large screen real estate of the iPad. Whether you're a regular Google+ user or you're just interested in Instant Upload or Hangouts, you don't want to miss the Google+ app for iOS.