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YouView app for Android update adds voice and programme search

YouView has updated its Android app adding a voice search feature and the option to search for programmes over the next seven days.  

The app in its previous form allowed you to search for programmes manually by scrolling through a mobile version of the programme guide of your YouView box. Pairing your phone with the box meant you could remotely set recordings and reminders for programmes on your phone from anywhere in the world. 

On Android phones and tablets that support voice actions, you can now search for programmes by speaking into your phone, Siri-style. You’ll be able to search by speaking the name of either the programme or the channel. 

YouView app for Android update adds voice search and programme search
The improved YouView app for Android makes it easier to find repeats of shows and avoid clashes

Read Recombu Digital’s guide to YouViewFor situations where setting recordings using your voice wouldn’t be appropriate or your phone doesn’t support it, you can now look for shows the old fashioned way more easily thanks to search improvements. 

Tapping search on the top right of the screen and selecting ‘Now & Next’ lets you search for upcoming programmes from the next seven days. Predictive search, which starts generating search results based on the letters you enter, is also included in this update. 

This mirrors the kind of smart search technology already available on the YouView set top boxes, bringing the mobile experience closer to what you’d get in the living room. 

Other changes such as a time and date display closely resemble the clock that you get on the YouView box. Programme information pages now provide links to HD versions of shows (where available) if you’d prefer to record those instead of the SD broadcast. Repeats of programmes will also be displayed to help you plan your recordings and avoid clashes. 

The Android YouView app is free to download. It works on most devices running 2.3 Gingerbread and above and has been optimised for the Samsung Galaxy S2, Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Ace, LG Nexus 4, and HTC One S. 

For an idea of how YouView for Android works, check out our hands-on video review

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