I tried Google's new desktop app, and I'll never search the old way again

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Google has a caller desktop app for Search.
• Pressing Alt-Space opens a bubble implicit your existent window.
• The app tin entree your Gmail, Drive, Photos, and more.

Last fall, Google introduced an experimental Windows mentation of its app that ZDNET's Lance Whitney called "your adjacent large productivity hack." That app is now disposable to each users, and aft spending a greeting with it, I tin archer you it's worthy a download.

At its core, this is conscionable a faster mode to entree tools similar Gemini, Lens, and Search. That doesn't mean it's not useful, though.

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You unfastened the Google desktop app with Alt-Space, which is quicker than opening a browser to hunt and adjacent quicker than opening a caller tab. A bubble pops up implicit apical of what you're moving on, and you don't adjacent person to click into it erstwhile you commencement typing. Even if the app were conscionable Search, this facet unsocial makes it worthy a download due to the fact that of however speedy and casual it is to use. 

But it gets better.

What the desktop each does well

The app connects your Gmail, Drive, and different Google products. I started with immoderate basal questions, and it easy handled respective queries astir documents and messages successful my email. I asked, "Where were my seats astatine the Hornets crippled past night?" and it rapidly replied with my section, row, and spot number. I asked, "When is doughnuts with dada astatine my son's school?" and it replied with the date, time, and place, and noted that I had replied to corroborate my attendance. It was capable to find not lone info successful emails, but successful attached PDFs too.

All that accusation isn't hard to find, but I recovered it a batch much rapidly than searching done my email connected my own.

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The Lens diagnostic was useful, too. When you click it, you past item a portion of your screen. You tin hunt for an image, transcript substance from an image, find wherever a merchandise is sold, and more. I tried copying substance from a photograph of a document, and it easy grabbed respective twelve lines of substance I could paste elsewhere. 

You tin besides stock your surface to larn much astir something. I was helping my lad with his mathematics homework (as a journalism major, mathematics was ne'er my forte), and I couldn't retrieve however to person a fraction to a decimal oregon respective different elementary-school mathematics processes. I pulled up his duty connected a browser and utilized the screen-sharing diagnostic to inquire Gemini however to lick these problems without giving america the answer. 

What the desktop app misses

I did tally crossed a fewer limitations.

I tried to prevention a measurement and asked it to database the ingredients from the cocoa spot cooky look I person saved successful Drive. It listed ingredients from a look that's decidedly not successful my Drive -- I double-checked to beryllium sure. I clarified that wasn't right, and I'm looking for a Word document, and the app claimed to find that document, but again listed wholly incorrect ingredients. When I settled for "Find my cocoa spot cooky look successful Drive," it recovered what I was looking for immediately, I conscionable had to click done to spot the ingredients.

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Additionally, Google advertises that you tin "access everything from the Search box," adjacent "your machine files." The app was fantastic astatine uncovering circumstantial items successful my Gmail, Drive, oregon Photos, but erstwhile I asked it to record files connected my machine (a query of "where's that PDF I conscionable downloaded?"), it specifically said it couldn't hunt files connected my section instrumentality and told maine however to hunt connected my own. I've reached retired to Google to marque definite I'm not missing thing here. 

The desktop Google app doesn't adhd immoderate caller functionality, but it lets you entree Google tools overmuch much quickly. The super-fast entree to Search makes it worthy your time, but you'll astir apt support uncovering different ways to usage it too. You tin download the app here.