Google chairman Eric Schmidt hinted today that Google Now, the company's Siri-like assistant for Android devices, has been submitted to Apple and is pending approval for publication in the App Store.
When asked directly whether or not we can expect Google Now on iPhone soon, Schmidt said, "You'll need to discuss that with Apple. Apple has a policy of approving or disapproving apps in its store. Some of the apps we make they approve and some of them they don't."
Schmidt made the comment at the Big Tent conference in India today. You can find a recording of the interview here, and skip to the 17:50 mark to hear the bit about Google Now on iPhone. We first spotted the clip on TechCrunch.
A promo video for Google Now on iPhone leaked last week, leading many to believe the app's launch is right around the corner.
Apple has a history of delaying approval of Google's apps on iPhone, but things have recently gotten better. Apple quickly approved the new Google Maps app for iPhone following its blunder with its own mapping app in the new version of iOS.
Google Now is generally considered to be a better product than Siri as its able to tap into Google's huge trove of data to find the answers you're looking for.
It can also do a bunch of other neat tricks like tell you when to leave to make a meeting on time (taking traffic into account), provide you with sports scores of your favorite teams (based on your search history), and let you know when shipped packages are due to arrive (based on shipping notices in your Gmail inbox).
Update: Apple denies that Google has submitted Google Now for iPhone.
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