Google+ now supports iPad, amen

Google+ now on iPad

Google+ has announced that their mobile app finally supports iPad, which iPad users have been demanding since day one, and the announcement comes along with news that all iOS users will see substantial upgrades to their Google+ experience in Google+ 3.0.

The iPad app is found in the iTunes catalog as the iPhone app, as the mobile iOS app supports both, which has some confused in their search (download link is below). What has most people captivated with Google+ 3.0 is that the iPad experience is said to be extremely responsive and well designed in a stream made up of six squares per screen, each square containing a Google+ update from connections.

While the tiling effect is not new, the ability to pinch a post to expand it and comment on it, then pinch again to throw it back into the stream is quite clever. Users may now also use two fingers to drag any post to the sharing box and share it on their own stream.

Hangouts on iPad

The most exciting part of the update is that you can now start a Google+ Hangout right from the device, and stream it to your television using AirPlay, and up to nine users can be invited. This version offers push notifications in the form of an iPhone ring to any user when a hangout begins so they are aware of when to jump in. Google+ also recently unveiled “events,” and the mobile app allows users to create, manage, and interact with events directly from their device.

Users should be aware that when uploading the app, the default is to allow instant upload, meaning any new photos you take with your device will be automatically uploaded to a Google+ album, and while the album is private, this is a setting many people will want to go in and disable.

Photo tour of the iOS app