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Evie - Better search and actions from your Android homescreen

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Wow, this looks fascinating. This feels like a mobile first Google. Pre-Google (or pre-search engines) you had to visit a website directly and hope that it had what you wanted. Post-Google you search for what you want and are told which places have it. Evie looks like it wants to become the same organisational/directional layer on top of mobile, which would be HUGE and something that Android/iOS haven't achieved natively. This is especially interesting because it looks like it doesn't always require the user to have a certain app installed to benefit from that products services. I'm assuming that this could play very nicely with Google's new Instant Apps and fuel the trend of declining mobile app installs. P.S If I were Google, I'd be very tempted to try and acquire this.
Maker
Haha, thanks dude :) This is like...exactly the conversation we had when starting to work on Evie. Would love to hear more once you've given it a try!
for sure. My first android (6P) is on its way to me now so shouldn't be long 😁.
Great explainer video. My wife and I are always searching different food delivery apps to find the restaurant we want. This solves that problem, at least for us Android users. Downloading now.
Maker
I'd love to hear your thoughts after you had a chance to play with it
great video indeed
Awesome idea, and stoked to see some Android love.
Maker
thanks Rod, we love Android!
I'm due for my bi-annual android purchase to keep up with the latest, and this just pushed me over the edge.
Maker
Well done. iPhone user here and use the native search often. This one appears to work better. I also have a Nexus and it's calling my name. If Apple doesn't innovate at WWDC next week, I am switching.
Post mortem on WWDC, do you think Apple innovated or are you reaching for your Nexus now?
Google Search on Android can already search inside installed apps (a.k.a. 'Phone search'). You can even choose which ones you want to be searchable. How does Evie differ from Google Search?
Maker
we recognize the semantic of content inside of apps. For example, we recognize "Halal Guys" is a restaurant, and its the same restaurant inside of Yelp, Doordash, etc. We believe mobile is more about structured search, vs text matches.
but google will soon launch their android instant app. How are you going to differentiate with this?
Maker
two parts of the problem. 1). finding the app/service that does what you want, and 2). downloading/opening the app. We are focused on solving 1). Instant Apps is going to make 2) much less painful. We will be able to utilize Instant Apps as app developers start to support it. It's really the ideal scenario for us.
Asks for an extensive list of permissions. Not sure why they need access to the microphone -- it doesn't look like they support voice search yet. I'm also not sure why they want access to my Bluetooth. The app description should explain these things.
Also, I don't see a Privacy Policy link on their site. I don't see an address on their site. I'm starting to doubt the intentions of this app now.
Maker
Anand, as for the microphone permissions, we do allow voice search from the home screen. I do understand your feedback though. We are switching to Marshmallow-style permissions shortly and will be more specific about why we require certain things.
Maker
these will be added; consider our site beta :) we have no malicious intentions tho.
OK, that's completely understandable. Good luck. This can be a big success!
Looks awesome! Cant wait to try this. Really cute logo too. Does anything happen if I give it a thunderstone?
Maker
So, if I were to compare Evie to the universal search available on iOS, you guys don't just search inside apps, you show a card that references all the apps that are relevant. So, if I search for a restaurant, you won't just show search results including the apps that I could order from. You show a card with more information too, right?
Maker
displaying a flat list of text matches can overwhelming on mobile, especially with dupes. We try to organize the content by unique entities, and then organizing the apps by the services that they provide (even if you don't have it installed yet).
right! OK I 100% get it now. I love it! Any iOS plans? Is it at all possible? I guess you'd have to be a standalone app.
Maker
unfortunately it's not possible replace Spotlight on iOS. That's where we ideally want to be. We are not sure if this makes sense as an app though. It adds a lot of mental friction to have to think about opening an app first.
agreed. Less convenient than "Android Evie". But I still think it would be pretty cool to get everything from one app :P
Maker
yeah, we'll keep that in mind.
Happy you guys are working on this. Switching between apps and searches is annoying and time consuming. This makes life easier :)
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