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Quick heads-up for those on Android M Preview 3: Google Now on Tap is back! Google seemingly allowed folks to try it out on the preview update, but it wasn’t long before they pulled the plug. It’s possible the service wasn’t quite ready enough for public consumption at that point.
But with the official revelation of the latest Nexus devices — which ship with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box — Google likely wanted to flip the switch back on in time for media to give it a whirl at yesterday’s event.
If you don’t know, Google Now on Tap delivers information on whatever you’re looking at. Initiated by the long press of a home button, Now on Tap could notice that you’re looking at a conversation where you and a friend are discussing a movie, and it’ll bring up movie show times or places you can buy the movie for private viewing. Or perhaps you’re looking up a new microwave on Target’s website — well, Now on Tap could be heady enough to load up driving directions.
This contextual awareness is something Google has been moving toward for a while across many things they do, and it’s the first step to getting their machine learning algorithms into the public’s hands.
Those on Android M Preview 3 should already be able to use it without having to get another update, so be sure to give it a try and see what it’s all about. For those who aren’t? Well, our earlier hands-on will have to do until Android 6.0 Marshmallow makes its way to your phone.
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