Google Discover to Soon Provide Air Quality Index on iOS and Android Devices

These days, you should always check the air quality before leaving the house so that you can schedule your outside activities appropriately. In the Delhi NCR region, where air pollution has already begun to skyrocket and make breathing difficult, this is the time of year when leaving your home becomes an extreme fight for your lungs to breathe.

Google is allegedly going to enable users to track air quality, which would be a useful tool for those who live in polluted places. This is part of their effort to aid people. On iOS and Android devices, Google is bringing an air quality (AQI) card to the Discover tab. The card will display the air quality index (AQI) along with a color-coded dot.

According to a report by 9to5Google, the platform is widely implementing the AQI map in the Discover tab on both iOS and Android operating systems. Soon, users will see this new tab in the Google app on the left side of the home screen. However, this feature is not yet available on tablets or Pixel Fold.

How does this feature work?

However, on mobile devices, Google adds a mini-map to the discovery feed that shows real-time updates on air quality in a local area. The company has also revamped the Customize menu, replacing the toggles with Material You checkboxes. 

Google currently has three minicards in the Discover tab: Sports, Weather, and Finance. The sports map shows real-time updates of the teams you follow, the weather map informs you of current weather conditions, and the financial map tracks stock prices and market trends in the industries you follow.

Google's fourth minicard

 Google is adding a fourth mini-map to the Discover tab: Air Quality (AQI). The mini-tab allows users to quickly and easily monitor the air quality in their area. To use the feature, users simply need to tap on the AQI minicard. This will launch a search for air quality data that will be displayed on the Discover tab.  This is a useful new feature that helps users stay informed about the air quality in their area. It's also a convenient way to check air quality before going out, especially for people who are sensitive to air pollution or have breathing problems. 

On the other hand, the report mentions that the iOS version of the AQI minicard is more complete than the Android version. It provides all the information that the future version of AQI minicard will show, such as AQI level, distance and air quality. It also has an air quality status indicator that is expected to change color to reflect air quality status. 

However, this feature is currently visible to certain beta users. Reports state that the beta version of Google's app for Android (version 14.32) and iOS has a blank map that fills the "air quality" search on tap. But the App Store listing already shows what it looks like; You get a numerical AQI, a color-coded score that corresponds to air quality, along with information about location and time of reading, as mentioned in the report.