Google is always improving its search and Google Now cards, and sometimes it rolls out new features on a small scale to test them before pushing them out to a larger audience. That appears to be the case with two new Google Now features that’ve been spotted by one user.
Redditor tyler_shaw24 recently spied new Recent Searches, What’s Hot, Nearby buttons in his Google search bar. The Recent Searches button does just what its name implies, showing you your recent search terms. Clicking the What’s Hot button brings up a list of the top searches on Google, while the Nearby button will let you see nearby restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and coffee shops.
As for how tyler_shaw24 got these new features, it’s likely that Google flipped a server-side switch to enable them for select users. It doesn’t sound like many other folks are seeing these buttons yet, so Google is probably just testing them right now. That said, they look pretty handy, making it easier to do things like check nearby places without having to jump into Google Maps. Here’s to hoping that Google rolls ‘em out to the rest of us soon.