Microsoft updates Bing with new design for iPhone and iOS 8 extensions for iPad

Microsoft has just released small yet significant updates to the official iPhone and iPad apps of its Bing search engine.

For the iPhone-optimized Bing Search app, the marquee improvement brought by its latest update is the app’s revamped home screen.

On the redesigned home screen, the search bar is, of course, front and center, with the requisite field for entering queries along with the camera and mic buttons for code scanning and voice search. The home screen also features Bing’s signature background photography, which can be swiped to switch between images.

From the bottom of the home screen, you can now swipe up to bring up trending stories, weather information, and other interests.

The latest update to Bing for iPhone also makes it easier to move between different pages.

Bing Translator for iPad

As for Bing for iPad, it has been updated with two new iOS 8 extensions that have been available on Bing for iPhone since the latter’s iOS 8-optimizing update arrived in September.

There’s support for Bing for iPad’s Today widget, which offers quick access to Bing’s Image of the Day, Trends, and more right from the Notification Center.

And there’s support for the Bing Translator browser extension, which automatically translates webpages. The target language for this feature may be changed in the settings section of Bing for iPad.

The new Bing for iPad update also delivers bug fixes.

Bing Search for iPhone and Bing for iPad are both available on the App Store for free.

Last week, Bing’s foremost competitor, Google, updated its official search engine app for iOS with a Material Design refresh, recently visited pages, and other notable improvements.

Last month, it was reported that Microsoft had been competing against Yahoo to replace Google as the default search provider for Apple’s Safari Web browser early next year.