Federico Viticci, writing for MacStories:

Today’s Google app updates highlight a major problem I’ve had with Google’s iOS software in the past year. One of the long-held beliefs in the tech industry is that Google excels at web services, while Apple makes superior native apps. In recent years, though, many have also noted that Google was getting better at making apps faster than Apple was improving at web services. Some have said that Google had built a great ecosystem of iOS apps, even.

Today, Google’s iOS apps are no longer great. They’re mostly okay, and they’re often disappointing in many ways – one of which is the unwillingness to recognize that adopting new iOS technologies is an essential step for building solid iOS experiences. The services are still amazing; the apps are too often a downright disappointment.

I’ve never felt positive about Google’s iOS apps. I use Google apps extensively on my Mac. Google’s gmail service has been rock solid for me, Google docs, Google Maps, too. But once I move over to iOS, things change.

Have you ever used a Windows app that someone ported to the Mac? An app that does what it is supposed to do, but feels like whoever designed it didn’t really understand how a Mac app is supposed to work?

That’s how Google’s iOS apps feel to me. As if they were written in Java to run under Android, then force ported to iOS. The iOS apps are missing the thoughtful details, that last 5% that takes an app from solid to magical.