Google finally released a calendar app for the iPhone on Tuesday.
An official calendar app was the one Google tool mysteriously missing from the iPhone. Without it, iPhone users have managed their Google (GOOG) calendars on the built-in Apple app (which mostly plays nice with Google) or third-party tools like Sunrise Calendar.
There are a few features in the new app that might entice people to switch over. Most importantly, it isn't just for Google customers. It works with non-Google calendars like iCloud and Exchange. And like its Android counterpart, the iOS calendar app can automatically create events from Gmail messages, like flight and dinner reservations. It also auto-suggests titles, locations and people when you create a new event.
The design is clean with the usual fun use of colors, illustrations and photos.
Even though its own Android operating system is the main competitor to iOS, Google has built up a collection of high-quality apps for the iPhone and iPad. Apps like YouTube, Gmail and Google Maps are constantly among the most downloaded in Apple's (AAPL) App Store.
But for now, iPad users will have to make do with other apps: Google's new calendar only works for the iPhone.
